Ospite Cronache: Lost Heroine
by 3rdAuror
Summary: (Formally Forgotten of Rome) A quest is given, the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of three teens: A repair boy with a backstory, a Aphrodite kid who might be a traitor and Reyna...who doesn't know who she is. But there's more, another prophecy: 'Death shall come to seize the lost; Take them both to be her hosts; To wake an evil of old; And end the world as unfortold."
1. Pt:I Reyna who?

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned HoO or PJO. I wish I owned Reyna and Leo, but I don't, that my friends, is why I bother myself with fan fiction.**

**A/N: This story is not like most Annabeth/Reyna switched AU's ,the plot will change as the story goes along. **

**BTW: Thank you Guest, I hadn't noticed the whole I thing until you pointed it out. My laptop is a Windows XP and I share in with practically my whole family so, one of them probably messed up my story. Hope I got all the I's, thanks again**

**Chapter 1: Reyna Who?**

**Reyna**

**EVEN BEFORE SHE AND HER** so called boyfriend got thrown through a windshield, Reyna was having a really crappy day."Um, Rey-Rey, Reyna?" A slightly accented voice called, followed by some constant and obnoxious knocking. " Reyna..."

He sounded worried. That wasn't necessarily the crappy part, it was that she had no idea who she was or where in hell she was? Reyna didn't recognize anything, not the worn out posters on the wall, not the horrifically disorganized bed beside hers (was it even her bed?) and definitely not the person trying to kick her door down. However was knocking opened the door frantically. He tumbled into the room in a fashion that would have been heroic if he didn't comically trip over a discarded towel on the floor and soon find himself on the floor, massaging his head. Reyna wanted to laugh, but she stopped herself. She never laughed, she didn't know why, but the thought of laughing at something this ridiculous made her feel weak.

And she knew never to be weak.

"Damn it Rey," The boy groaned as he picked himself off the floor. "I thought you were gonna tell Piper to pick that thing off the floor…"

He kept speaking, but Reyna wasn't really listening. Her first instinct was to get off her bed and slap him, but she stopped herself. Who was he?

_He looks like a cute Santa elf. _

She stopped her thoughts there. What was she thinking? She never thought of anyone as cute. He had curly black hair, pointy ears a cheerful, babyish face and a seemingly permanent mischievous smirk that told you right away this guy shouldn't be trusted around matches or sharp objects. Although she didn't want to, she had to admit, he was pretty cute.

"…and since Piper said you weren't feeling so good I decided to check on you." He finished shyly, one of his hands rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and the other running through his forest of curly hair. "Y'know to make sure you're well enough to go for today's workout." He added a little too quickly.

"Right…"Reyna drawled in response.

Who was this guy and why was he so damn nervous? Who was Piper, her friend? Sister? What even made her think she had a sister? Who was she? Where was she? She fended off the urge to punch the wall out of frustration. Was she always this temperamental? Reyna tried to quickly evaluate her situation, something she had a feeling she did often. So far, she didn't know where she was or the slightest thing about herself and there was this random elf guy talking about some workout…

Leo walked towards her and sat beside her in the bed. "You're still going right…why the hell are you looking at me like that. Someone draw on my face again?"

"I have no idea who the hell you are."Reyna said before she could stop herself. She mentally groaned, her best option would've been to lay low, pretend she had everything under control while she figured out what was going boy's face lost all emotion for a second. He didn't seem confused or even shocked at her proclamation. He was perfectly stoic, like she'd just told him she got a manicure or something. Did he know something, was he pretending to be stoic because he was actually freaking out. Reyna got her answer when he burst out laughing.

"Are you trying to get me back for that shaving cream on the jell-o thing?" He snickered. "Seriously I said I was sorry. Never thought I'd see the day you actually made a joke, however horrible it was."

Rena stared back at him blankly. "I'm serious, I don't know you."

"Right…" He scoffed, with a sarcastic roll of the eyes. "And my name isn't Leo Valdez, Supreme Overlord of the Universe."

"It isn't Leo." A voice came from the doorway. Reyna turned to see who had just spoken.

The girl in the doorway wore faded jeans, hiking boots and a fleece snowboarding jacket. Her chocolate brown hair was cut choppy and uneven. She wore no makeup, like she was trying not to draw attention to herself, but it didn't work. She was seriously pretty, in fact, so pretty she reminded Reyna of some one she'd met before. In the dim lighting of the bedroom Reyna could see that the girl's eyes seemed to change color like a kaleidoscope-brown, blue, and green.

"Ha ha, very funny Piper," Leo deadpanned, his face dropping comically.

This was Piper. Well at least I'm sure she isn't my sister. Reyna thought.

It didn't help her much, but at least she knew one more, tiny thing about herself, however irrelevant the information was.

"Aw, don't you two look cozy. Hope I'm not interrupting anything," Piper teased, winking at Leo. "I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of your girlfriend."

Reyna didn't understand why, but Leo's face turned considerably redder, despite his tanned pigmentation. Reyna could feel her cheeks heat up a little as well, the thought of a boyfriend did not bode well with her.A change of subject was in order. Luckily Leo beat her to the chase.

"I came to check on her, she says she can't remember us."

"I can't." Reyna said seriously. "I have no idea who the hell you two are or what I'm even doing here."

Leo laughed again. Reyna felt like slapping him, why wouldn't he believe her? "Yeah, right, Rey. We've all been framed! I didn't run away six times. Pipes didn't steal a BMW."

"I didn't steal that car, Leo!" Piper blushed, her fists clenching like she'd had this conversation millions of times.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot. What's your story? You talked the dealer into lending it to you?" He turned to Reyna with a look that read: Can you believe her.

"This is so stupid," Reyna breathed. ''Can somebody please tell me who I am and what I'm doing here?"

Piper stopped glaring at her and knit her eyebrows in Reyna's direction. "Reyna, are you joking?"

"Do I sound like I'm joking!" Reyna's voice was slightly raising now.

She was getting angry, showing emotion. She wasn't supposed to do that, but something inside of her snapped. She didn't know why, but she wasn't used to not being taken seriously. She was always serious, she never let things like jokes and friends get the better of her. She felt like she had learnt that the hard way.

She saw the worried look on Piper's face and she decided to calm down. Maybe she was just being rash because she knew she had no control over the situation. She didn't like that at all. "Look, , honest to the gods have no idea who both of you are,"

The gods…. Where the hell did that come from?

"Leo..." Piper turned to give Leo a look. "I think she's actually serious."

Piper took a few steps closer to the bed and Leo moved to touch Reyna, but she scrambled out of the bed and backed away from both of them, utterly fed up with this situation.

"Did you hit your head or something?" Piper kept her eyes on Reyna's, kaleidoscope colors meeting obsidian black in concern. "You really have no idea who we are?"

Reyna sighed in frustration and ran a hand down her face. She gave up on not displaying emotion and gave Piper a look so desperate she was surprised she could achieve it. "It's worse than that. I have no idea who I am."

Leo frowned in concern, but it soon molded into a grin. "Does that mean were not going to the work out?"

~o0o~

Eventually Reyna calmed down and agreed to go to the bloody workout. Apparently, their school coach, Hedge, thought the best way to sort out the juveniles was to make them ran in the most random of places. Piper had insisted she wouldn't mind skiving behind if Reyna wasn't feeling well, but Reyna had a feeling Leo wouldn't be very happy about going to that workout by left them to dress up and came back to find Piper in the same clothes and Reyna in a simple pair of black skinny jeans, a pair of tall black leather boots a purple tank top and a thin dark grey cardigan (Piper told her it was ok to wear that, considering nobody actually did any exercise), her black hair in a long makeshift braid over her shoulder. Leo paused for a second to look at her with his mouth twisted into a weird sort of grin.

The trio trekked out of what Piper said was a school. Reyna would've been easily fooled. She thought it looked a more like a prison. Piper tried to explain a few things about her and Leo along the way, but Reyna wasn't really listening.

She was trying to asses their characters, their weaknesses and their strengths.

Piper was really nice and pretty, which meant people found it easy to trust her. She was also extremely convincing, Reyna knew she did not in any way belong here, with them, but the way Piper told her about their friendship and some of the crazy shit they did, she found herself seriously wanting to believe that she was their friend.

Leo, on the other hand, was pretty hard to figure out, sure he came of as the easy going comedian who would even take jabs at his own pride to make people laugh, but Reyna knew there was a lot more to him. Something he was trying so desperately to hide. Reyna couldn't shake the feeling that Leo knew something he shouldn't, but what she couldn't figure out was what. Did it have something to do with her or was it something more personal?

Reyna shivered slightly. She looked up to see dark clouds collecting. She frowned at them, like they were the reason she couldn't remember anything. Something about them was off.

"Oh," A girl whispered to her group as Leo, Piper and Reyna approached the parking lot. "Who invited Weirdo, Cherokee Faison Hazard and Ms. Stick-in-the-Mud?"

The girl measured them with such malice and skill, Reyna wasn't sure if she was impressed or threatened.

"Piss off Isabel,"

The guy who said this was obviously a stereotypical jock who was so popular and handsome everybody liked him. Reyna raised her eyebrows as she scanned him.

The first thing she noted was his billion dollar smile. They were so white Reyna could clearly see them in the pitch black darkness. A flashlight was passed round and she got a better look at him. His black hair was cut superman style, he had a deep tan and he wore a Dallas Cowboys Jersey, Western jeans and a pair of boots. He pulled the look off so effortlessly and he grinned in her direction like he was the gods' gift to mankind.

Reyna hated him immediately and she could tell from the way Leo worked the muscles in his jaw and Piper clenched her fists that this feeling was shared amongst the group.

"Piper, babe, you made it. Come on. Bet you wouldn't want to hang out with these assholes." He said wrapping an arm round her and dragging her off into the school bus parked in front of them.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Man I hate that guy," He bowed in an imitation of what he probably thought a gentleman would do and held out his arm for I to take. "Oh I'm Dylan. I'm so cool, I want to date myself, but I'm too much of a dumbass to figure out how! Wanna date me instead? You're lucky I even asked."

It was Reyna's turn to roll her eyes. "You are one weird little Mexican boy, Y'know that?"

"Yeah you tell me that a lot," Leo grinned, waving off her comment like it was some sort of usual occurrence. "But if you don't remember me, that means I can reuse my old jokes. Come on!"

Leo and Reyna followed everybody to the bus and made their way the back. As they went Piper, who was in the front, gave them a pleading look as Dylan kept his arm around her, Reyna shrugged and even though Reyna didn't think she actually knew Piper she felt really sorry for her. Nobody deserved that kind of torture.

"Moriarty put your tongue out of Greenery's throat! Get in here White! Valdez! Sit your ass down!"

Reyna immediately assumed this man barking orders was Coach Hedge. At least he looked like a coach. His baseball cap pulled low over his hair, so you could just see his beady eyes. He had a goatee and an extremely sour face, like he'd just been changing a baby diaper. His buff arms and chest pushed against a bright orange polo shirt and his nylon workout pants and Nikes were spotless white. Reyna had no idea how she hadn't noticed before, then she realized he was about five feet. Still, despite his height he looked willing to fight pretty much everybody there.

That probably had something to do with the baseball bat he caressed in his hands.

"Watch this," Leo whispered to her before turning to coach Hedge. "Sorry what was that coach, can't here you, d'you mind using your megaphone."

Coach Hedge grunted like he was pleased with to have an excuse. He unclipped it from it's place on his belt and continued yelling orders, but his voice came out like Darth Vader's. Everybody cracked up, even Reyna felt a smile tug at her lips despite herself. The Coach tried again, but this time the megaphone blared: "The cow says Moo!"

Reyna couldn't stop her smile as the kids howled and the coach slammed down the megaphone. "Valdez!"

The coach stopped glaring at Leo and scowled at Reyna. She felt her hopes lift. The coach didn't know who she was. He was going to call her out. Maybe he could explain what the hell was going on. But the coach cleared his throat and looked away.

"Sit down!"He definitely knew something.

Reyna and Leo went to sit at the second last row, Reyna trying to hide her disappointment.

"How did you do that?" She asked curiously. She knew he was hiding something, was this it, he was a freakishly good prankster.

Leo slipped a tiny Phillips screwdriver out of his sleeve. "I'm a special boy."As he moved to slip it back, his hand accidently brushed against hers. Reyna's face burned and Leo's face went red again, his tanned skin not doing much to hide it. The bus started and they were silent for a while. Reyna wondered why he had blushed at that tiny contact, why had she? She thought back to when she first met Piper. She'd teased them, said Leo was her boyfriend.

Was he?

She didn't hate him, and she thought he was kind of cute. Maybe they were together. She cringed, she didn't know why, but she wasn't supposed to think like that. She turned to Leo whose long nimble fingers played with a few screws he got from gods knew where.

Again with the gods? But something about that word, gods, felt important, like a clue to her identity. She was missing something and if she could figure it out, she'd remember who she slight tap tap of rain on the bus' windows brought her out of that thought. She didn't like the feeling she got as she looked out the window into the sky. The night became even darker as banks of clouds collected, and Reyna subconsciously scratched the middle finger on her right hand. There was a ring on it she hadn't originally noticed. It was gold, with a strange insignia carved into it. A torch crossed by a looked so familiar and Reyna felt like she'd gotten close to something about her past. Something that defined her.

"Seeing as Piper isn't here we might as well continue our crash course for my favorite, lovely amnesiac," Leo started, running a hand through his hair as his blush finally cleared. The 'helpful' tone he said this in gave Reyna the felling this wouldn't help her in anyway. "We go to the 'Wilderness School"-Leo made dramatic air quotes with his fingers-"Which means we're the 'bad kids'. Your family or the court or whoever, decided you were so much trouble, so they shipped you off to this lovely prison-apologies, boarding school'- in Armpit Nevada, where you learn some valuable life skills like weaving daises into hats and running ten miles a day through cacti! And as a special bonus we get to spend extra hours with Coach Hedge, whose preferred method of punishment is a whack with his baseball bat. Is it all coming back to you now?"

Reyna rolled her eyes irritably. "No." She glanced at the other kids all of whom looked about her age-sixteen, fifteen? Great she didn't even know her age- none of them looked like hardened criminals, she wasn't sure how, but she would have been able to tell if they were. Her eyes landed on Piper who was swatting Dylan's hand, which looked a little lower than the last time she had seen it.

Pervert.

Leo rolled his eyes, as well probably seeing what she saw. "The three of us started here together last semester. We're really tight. You do everything I say and give me your desert, and do my chores…" Leo trailed off as he saw Reyna's unimpressed raised eyebrow. "Fine. Ignore that last part, but we are friends." The small blush creeping it's way onto his cheeks said differently.

"Leo, are we…um…"

Reyna didn't even know what compelled her to ask. She was supposed to be figuring out what who she was, not dealing with teen drama. But there was something about the way he acted around her, like he was afraid she would hate him if he as much as glanced at her. "Together? Are we dating?" She added the last part for clarification.

Leo's eyes widened slightly and Reyna immediately regretted asking. "Uh…we never really talked about it or anything. But, well the last few weeks-"

"Forget I asked anything," She mumbled quickly, cutting him off.

"With pleasure."

The car stopped eventually and everyone got out grumbling about the weather. Coach Hedge didn't seem to really care, if anything, the way he frolicked out of the buss suggested this weather was his equivalent to a perfectly sunny day full of rainbows and butterflies.

As Reyna stepped on the flat terrain she raised dust. Well, Leo was right about the whole jogging through cactus thing. She thought with an eye roll. Coach hedge warmed up, stretching his legs and arms.

"What's wrong, a little rain never killed anybody." He yelled. "Group together! Move it!"When they started jogging Reyna stayed close to Leo, Purely for warmth. She told herself. Which was mostly true, he was really warm, a sensation that seemed to pass over to her the closer she got to him. It was so warm and welcoming she couldn't think straight. She needed to figure out who she was.

"I just don't get it," She said over the growing drizzle. "Where am I from? When's my birthday? How did we meet" What do we talk about?"

Even in the dark she could see the confusion embedded in Leo's frown. "I don't recall exactly. I'm ADHD Rey. You can't expect me to remember details."

"But I don't remember anyone here at all. I don't remember you. What if-"

"You're right and everyone else is wrong?" Leo finished for her, sounding a little sad. Did that have something to do with the fact that she didn't remember him? "You think you just appeared here and we've all got fake memories of you?"

She didn't say anything, but a little voice in her head agreed. That's exactly what I Leo was right, since when did stuff like that ever happen. Everyone seemed to remember her. Everyone treated her like they knew her…Everyone, but Coach Hedge.

"I'll be right back," Reyna said, increasing her pace before Leo could argue with her.

Wind brushed against her face as she ran ahead and she knew that if the situation had been different she would have loved this feeling: her legs pumping with energy and the wind tickling her face. She squeezed through each student, most of which were walking and just talking. As she got to the short man in the front she saw Dylan's blinding white smile and Piper's eye coach didn't seem to be focused on their course, but rather on the storm clouds overhead. "You do this kid?"

How had he even noticed Reyna fall into step with him with all the noise from the murmuring students and the growing wind?

"Do what?" It sounded like the coach was blaming her for the Hedge turned to glare at her, his beady eyes glinting in the dark. "Don't play games with me kid. What are you doing here and why are you messing up my job?"

Reyna felt hope churn around in her chest. "You mean…you don't know me? I'm not one of your students?"

"Never seen you before today." Hedge snorted. "You got a powerful way with the mist, kid, if you can make all these people think they know you; but you can't fool me cupcake. I've been smelling monster for days now. I knew we had an infiltrator, but you don't smell like a monster. You smell like a half-blood. So-where'd you come from?"

The coach made no sense, but at the moment Reyna didn't mind. She was elated. She was right, she really did not belong here.

"I don't know who I am. I don't have any memories. I need your help," The last part she struggled to say, she probably didn't usually ask for help.

The coach studied her as if reading her thoughts. "Great," He muttered. Your being truthful."

"Of course I am! And what is all this about monsters and half-bloods are they like code words or something?"

Hedge rolled his eyes at her like she was asking the obvious. Part of her thought he was nuts. But the other part…it knew better.

"Look kid." Hedge said impatiently. "I don't know who you are. I just know what you are, and it means trouble. Now I've got to protect three instead of two. Are you the special package? Is that it?"

"What the fu-"

Hedge looked at the storm. It was getting thicker by the second, seemingly hovering right over them. "Ok, everybody turn it around, we're heading back!" The students picked up the pace at the thoughts of returning back to their warm beds and the coach turned his attention back to Reyna.

"This morning," He started. "I got a message from camp. They said an extraction team is on its way and that they're coming to pick up a special package, but they wouldn't give me details. The two I'm watching a pretty powerful, older than most. I know their being stalked. I can smell a monster in the group. I figure that's why the camp is suddenly frantic to pick them up. But then you pop out of nowhere. So, I'll ask again, are you the special package."

Reyna got more confused. Half-bloods, monsters, camp. She still had no idea what the couch was going on about. The words gave her a massive headache, sort of like brain freeze –like her brain was trying to access information that should've been their but wasn't.

She stumbled slightly and Hedge caught her before she had the chance to face plant onto the ground.

For a short guy, he had a vice like grip. "Careful cupcake. You say you got no memories, huh? Fine. I'll just protect you too, at least until the gets here. We'll get the director to figure things out."

Reyna growled angrily. "What director, which camp?"

"Sit tight kid. Reinforcements should be here soon. Hopefully nothing happens before- "

Lightening crackled overhead and the wind picked up far to quickly to be natural. Kids who had hats made wild grabs and some stumbled. Soon the wind grew so loud the only noises Reyna could register was the loud profanity from students as well as the coach.

"I just had to say something," He mumbled, grabbing his megaphone. "Hurry it up! The cow says moo! Everyone, to the bus!"

He increased his speed and Reyna followed, still confused and wanting answers.

"I thought you said a little rain wouldn't hurt us?" She yelled over the wind.

"Not under normal circumstances," Hedge agreed. "Which these are not. Come on!"

~o0o~

**Hope you liked it, don't forget to leave a review or two. The story will mostly be following this format, but it will become a little more AU as I move along. Also I need a little help with Piper's character because frankly I think it's a little dull. Should it be a Jasper story, I was thinking of pairing Jason with Calypso seeing as I is obviously ending up with I (I love Leyna!) and I actually like Piper will become an Amazonian …or not…R&R!**


	2. Pt:1 The Badass?

**Chapter 2: The…Badass?**

**Reyna**

**THE STORM CHURNED INTO A **miniature hurricane. Funnel clouds snaked there way into the sky, like the tendrils of some sort of monster jellyfish, making it even darker than before. Kids started screaming and running faster towards the bus. Reyna, who had easily made her way to the front of the group, saw a curly head fall to the ground.

_Leo_.

She stopped herself to help him up. She was surprised at how easily she got him to his feet. "Reyna, you're ok," He yelled over the winds. "Geez, when you didn't come back I thought Coach had assaulted you with his baseball bat or something."

Reyna didn't have time to be flattered that he had been worried about her. Something bad was about to happen, and I was about to happen to her, she could feel it in her gut. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the bus. She felt a strange yet comforting adrenaline and strength course through her veins, not really understanding why.

She was astonished at how fit she was. She'd sprinted all they way, lugging Leo behind her without breaking a sweat. Coach Hedge, who had been right in front of her the whole time, somehow wedged the school bus' doors open and he and the two teens tumbled into it.

Reyna felt a sigh escape her lips. Something about knowing that Leo was safe filled her with unimaginable relief. His face was flushed and his hair being blown in all sorts of directions. He was panting like he'd burst a lung and he gripped his chest a little too dramatically. "What the hell is that?" He breathed his eyes focused outside.

Reyna followed his gaze and looked out of the windscreen to see the other kids trying to run towards the bus. Their effort was futile, like running through quicksand. The winds were so strong it seemed to fight the crowd, pushing the away from the bus.

Piper forced herself into the bus, Dylan close behind, still grinning like an idiot. Piper was panting as well, her snowboarding jacket flapping wildly in the wind from the open windows and her dark hair all in her face. She tried to keep the doors open for the other kids on the way, but they somehow slammed shut.

"Guys, help," She wheezed as she applied all her energy into pulling open the doors.

Reyna and Leo moved to help, but Dylan held up his hand, palm outstretched. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He smiled. Dylan flicked his wrist and Piper flew backwards, hitting her back on the driver's seat.

"Piper!" Leo was about to charge forward, but Reyna, noticing she was still holding his hand, squeezed it and gave him a meaningful glance. Reyna let go of his hand and immediately felt more alone than she'd felt all day. When she motioned to attack, the coach roughly pushed her back.

"Leo, Reyna, stay behind me." The coach ordered over the wind. "This is my fight. I should've known this our monster."

"What the…" Leo was so confused. He frowned and turned to Hedge.

The coach threw of his hat and sticking up above his curly hair were two bumps, like the knots cartoon characters get when their bonked on the head. Coach Hedge lifted his baseball bat, but Reyna noted it wasn't a bat anymore. Somehow it had changed into a crudely shaped tree branch, complete with twigs and leaves still attached.

"Come now _Coach_, let them attack me," Dylan gave him his usual million watt smile. But now it was more than irritating, it was menacing. "After all, you're getting way to old for this. Think you can protect three demigods huh?"

Dylan pointed at Leo and a funnel cloud materialized around him. Leo flew over the chairs and straight into the back of the bus like he'd been tossed by an invisible hand. He landed on his side moaning as he passed out.

Reyna froze for a moment. "See if he's ok," She heard Coach Hedge yell. "I got this."

Reyna was already ahead of him and in a flash she was at Leo's side. That had to be painful, what if he fractured something important, or broke his back. He looked nothing like the blushing Leo she'd seen a few minutes ago. Reyna knelt beside him slapping his cheeks slightly and murmuring a few breathy, '_wake up'_s.

Nothing.

Out of the corner of her eye, Reyna saw the Coach jump with agility she didn't think was possible. He was taking whacks at Dylan, shouting profanity every time he missed. Dylan was agile as well, dodging each of the coach's obvious, yet powerful attacks. Eventually Dylan grew tired of this dance and flicked his hand lazily. The wind grew and blew the club out of the coach's hand.

Hedge's eyes widened as Dylan faced his hand towards the shorter man, palm facing him. The coach executed an impressive flip over Dylan's attack and landed behind the currently grinning teen.

Hedge kicked his shoes in Dylan's direction, Reyna thought he was looking for something to throw at the monster, but she amended that thought when she saw the Coach didn't have feet. He had hooves, goat hooves. Something clicked within Reyna's brain as she turned her attention to the two males and their current stare down. Those little bumps on his head were not just bumps –they were horns.

"You're a faun." Reyna observed.

"_Satyr_!" Hedge snapped as he danced on his feet, challenging Dylan to attack. "Fauns are Roman!"

The coach charged, hooves clomping against the metal of the bus' floor. Reyna didn't know what surprised her more" 'Dylan' being the highly acclaimed monster Hedge kept going on about, Coach Hedge being a faun–satyr, whatever, or the fact that she didn't really care about the coach being half-goat, but only about the battle at hand.

As the coach charged Dylan made a slapping motion. Hedge was violently slammed into some seats. He let out a tiny groan that sounded a lot like asshole.

Dylan turned to smile at Reyna. "So, you're the special package everybody's so worried about," He sneered inching closer with each word. "I was expecting someone a little more…_exciting_."

Reyna still didn't know who she was. The coach was out cold and so was Piper. Leo was coming round, but she was sure he wouldn't be much help. He was good with machines not fighting. And here was this monster leering at her like he was ready to crush her bones for bread. But didn't panic even though she knew she had about a million and one reasons to. All she needed was a weapon.

_A sword or even a knife_.

The middle finger with a ring on it felt cold. She hadn't noticed she had clenched her fists and was shocked to feel her fingers incase the slightly worn, but comfortable leather handle of a knife. Its razor sharp, golden blade about as long as her hand.

Acting on instinct she jumped to her feet and took a well executed back hand slash at Dylan. He dissolved into smoke, as if his molecules were being unglued and her blade going straight through thin air. He materialized in the same spot. Dylan had the same face, the same white smile, but his body was suddenly composed of swirling black vapor. His eyes were like electrical sparks in a living storm and he sprouted black smoky wings that he flapped just to show off.

"You're a _Ventus_," Reyna growled, though she didn't know how she knew the word. "A storm spirit."

Dylan laughed, a horrible sound that reminded Reyna of a tornado tearing off a roof. "I'm glad I waited Demigod. Leo and Piper I've known about for weeks. Could've killed them whenever I wanted to. But my mistress said a third was coming. And she was right, you are special. She'll greatly reward me for your death!"

Dylan stepped back a few paces and two more funnel clouds appeared, each turning into _venti_–ghostly young men with smoky wings and eyes that flickered with lightening.

Reyna's eyes narrowed and she gripped her knife tighter. She charged expertly, easily slashing through the first _ventus__. _Not waiting for it to erupt into golden dust, she waved her knife fancily, granting the second a few fancy cuts before it turned to gold dust.

When she finished she threw her knife at Dylan with precision that could never be taught. He dodged it by about a millimeter and it sailed into the headrest of the driver's chair. Dylan's smile vanished. He hadn't expected Reyna to take out his goons in a matter of seconds. Reyna blew a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, wondering the same thing. She didn't think coach Hedge taught _that _in his gym sessions.

But where else would she have learnt all that from? Why did she feel so at ease and in her element as she took down the monsters?

Reyna stopped her musings. She aimed a flat footed kick at Dylan's chest, but he dematerialized before she made contact, her leg fazing through his body. She stumbled, but soon corrected herself. She spun on her heel ready to attack again, but she never had the chance. Everything happened so fast.

She heard a weak battle cry.

Leo charged.

Dylan dematerialized again.

Leo lost his footing and he fell, taking her along with him.

And then he landed, on top of _her_, his hands digging into her shoulders for support and her face heating up so much she momentarily forgot the monster out for her blood. Before the two teens even had the chance to analyze the awkwardness of the situation, Dylan flicked his wrist again and they went flying through the windshield.

Reyna landed on her back, glass cutting deep into her back. Reyna thanked the gods she was thinking about earlier that the adrenaline from the battle numbed the pain. She rolled to her side, trying to remove a few shards from a her back before Dylan come over to finish them off.

Leo groaned. "Ow…man, I always knew I would want to be on top."

Reyna fought off a smile at his crude joke. Now wasn't the time. But she couldn't help but admire that Leo was still joking around, even at the face of death. She stood up stretching and bracing herself for the unexpected.

Dylan opened the bus' door and walked out like he had all the time in the world. He and Reyna both knew she was at a disadvantage. She was weaponless and had only a knocked out faun and two inexperienced teens as allies, whereas he had powers over the wind and could summon other _Venti_ to fight her until she was tired enough to kill.

He stopped a foot or two away from her examining Leo, who was too injured to stand. "Two little piggies," He laughed that tornado-roof laugh. "My mistress calls me back. Who should I take with me? The idiotic knight in shining armor, or you, Ms. Demigod Lara Croft" His eyes shifted to her. "Or maybe Piper, she is very pretty…"

Reyna didn't react, she was to busy thinking up possible strategies.

She couldn't run back into the bus, Dylan was blocking the cracked windshield and she couldn't run past him to the bus entrance. He was too fast. She couldn't charge at him with her bare hands, it would be impractical and stupid.

Dylan was still having his glorious monologue, loving the sound of his own voice as he described the evil thing he's do to Leo, Reyna and Piper in captivity. Reyna heard a slight crack and she turned towards the windshield. She couldn't stop the tiny smile that touched her lips.

Piper gripped the branch, slightly dazed, but with a determined look on her face. Reyna read the message as clearly as daylight: _Keep him distracted._

Not that there was much need to, Dylan was still very much preoccupied by himself. "…You know what. I've made my decision. I'll take you, Reyna. Why bother with the sidekicks?"

Piper swung the branch like the baseball bat it once was, cracking Dylan straight over the head. "Never underestimate the sidekicks, ghost dick." Piper breathed wryly, her voice coming out as a strained growl.

Dylan fell to the ground and dematerialized as a gust of smoke. Reyna smiled at her success, helping stabilize Piper.

Leo moaned, his curly hair glittered with stray monster dust. "Where did everyone go?" He looked horrible, a little dry blood on his back and his face.

_At least he isn't dead. _Reyna thought_. _She looked around, like Leo, wondering where the other kids had gone, they couldn't have disappeared. Maybe the mist, Hedge mentioned before made them think the bus had exploded or something and they left to find civilization.

Bothe girls shrugged and helped him to his feet. "Seriously, did Coach Hedge just turn into a goat?" Leo coughed as he groped at a few shard of glass imbedded in his back.

"Faun, he's a faun." Reyna corrected'

The trio stumbled into the bus, Leo's feet dragging against the ground as the girls tried to lug him into the bus.

Reyna felt tired. Not physically, but mentally. Something told her she had fought monsters more vicious that _venti _in the past and defeated them single handedly. What she didn't get was what Dylan and Coach said. _Special package_. Was that what she was, the special package. Was that why she couldn't remember anything about herself, why she was here? Was that why Dylan's mistress was so interested in her?

Who was Dylan's mistress anyway? What did she want with Reyna?

Reyna had so many questions, none that she could answer without the help of however brought her here in the fist place.

"Shit!" Piper's cursing brought Reyna out of her musings. "Where is coach Hedge?"

Reyna looked at where she last saw the faun. His small outline was seemingly indented into the chairs' hard cushioning, but he wasn't there. "Dylan must have taken him," Reyna deduced. He couldn't go back to his mistress empty handed, could he?

"What do we do now?" Leo said as he slowly deposited himself in one of the front chairs.

Reyna clenched her fist, feeling the cold, gold ring that had returned to her finger. She was angry, angry at Hedge for being so damn cryptic. Angry at Dylan for being an asshole. Angry at theses people who called themselves her friend for being so clueless. But she was mostly angry at herself, she couldn't remember anything. Not where she came from, not why she was here or where she learned to fight like that.

Her anger faded when she saw Piper and Leo looking at her expectantly. She sighed. None of this was their fault or even hers, they were in the same circumstances and probably even confused than her. "I have no idea," She answered, slumping down next to Leo. "Hedge said an extraction squad was coming for us."

"Extraction," Leo coughed again. "Damn that sounds painful."

Piper shivered as she sat beside Reyna. "Reyna, those things–"

"Storm Spirits, _Venti__._"

Piper rolled her eyes. "Yeah, ok, whatever. You acted like…like you'd fought them before. You took out two in a matter of seconds. And what was with all the badass knife skills? Who are you?"

Reyna rolled her eyes in turn. "That's what I've been trying to tell you two all night,"-she looked outside noting the light of a sunrise trickle in-"I have no idea who I am, or how the hell I did that."

Piper nodded, more to herself than to anyone, like she was finally sure that Reyna wasn't going insane. "And that thing Dylan turned into…" Piper shuddered. "Gs I can't believe _it _was hitting on me. He called us...what _demigods_."

"Don't know what _demi _means," Leo said. "But I don't feel all too godly right now. Anyone else feel godly." He coughed from beside them, leaning his head on Reyna's shoulder and surprisingly not blushing. Though Reyna wasn't too surprised, he was probably in too much pain to worry about hormones.

There was some silence, everyone trying to recover from the shocker of the night they just had.

"Oh shit, I think I have a concussion," Leo moaned. "I'm hallucinating now."

"Leo I don't think your hallucinating," Piper pointed outside a window. "Reyna do you see that?"

Reyna followed her gaze, her eyes slowly widening in delight. At first it looked like a bunch of birds collected in the early morning sky, but when she looked closer se noticed it was a bunch of birds pulling a finely crafted piece of gold.

They weren't birds. They were Pegasus's, she was sure of it.

Reyna pulled Piper into a standing position. "Help me with Leo," She ordered as she grabbed Leo's left arm and carefully hefted it over her shoulder. "That has got to be the extraction squad."

The trio found its way out and they dragged themselves to the other side of the bus.

The chariot landed a few feet away. The Pegasus's tucked in their wings and cantered around nervously, as if not used to the dusty, flat terrain. Two teenagers stood in the chariot –a tall tan boy with black hair about a year or two older than them and a bulky guy with a bald head and a face like a strangely arranged pile of brick. They both wore jeans and orange t-shirts, with shields on their backs. The tan boy leaped off the chariot before it even finished moving. He pulled out a pen, which Reyna thought was impractical before it turned into a gleaming bronze sword.

He ran towards the group as the bulky guy reined in the horses. As he got closer Reyna frowned. She knew him. She recognized the sea green eyes and his face. She'd met him before and judging from her sudden urge to whip out her knife, she didn't like him.

"Where is she?" The boy demanded. His voice, Reyna remembered that too.

"Where's who?" Piper asked.

The boy frowned like he was not at all pleased with that answer. He huffed angrily, but seemed to compose himself as he asked in a less threatening tone: "What about Gleeson? Where is your protector, Gleeson Hedge?"

"Dude, coach's name is Gleeson," Leo laughed weakly. "Gleeson Hedge: football coach, goat man, protector of demigods. Awesome title!"

The boy in front of him looked like he probably would've laughed if the situation were different, the bulky guy on the other hand grinned. "I like this kid," He laughed.

Piper rolled her eye, wanting to get back on track. "He got taken by those tornado things–"

"_Venti_," Reyna interrupted. "Who wants to know?"

The boy raised an eyebrow stupidly. "Excuse me?"

"Who. Are. You. Two. Why should we trust you?" Reyna repeated this in a tone she never thought she could use. Her voice was soft and menacing, showing she wanted answers and wasn't ready to take any bull-crap She sounded authoritative, daring him not to answer her. Piper gave her a look and even the boy's serious façade faltered.

"Uh Reyna–" But before Leo could finish she already had her knife held at this new boy's throat.

"Who are you?" She demanded. "How do I know you?"

"Uh…" The boy didn't seem threatened in anyway, just concerned for Reyna's sanity. "What?"

"I don't remember anything. Not where I'm from…who I am, my past. But I know you, and I don't like you. Why?"

"Yeah…" He nodded as if she'd just told him the weather and she wasn't holding a razor sharp blade to his throat. His eyes looking elsewhere, as if he was searching for someone. "I have no idea who you are or who you know me. I swear I've never seen you before and I can' help you."

"Well we _can_ help you," The bald guy supplied. "Just not with your amnesia..."

"What's that supposed to mean," Reyna's eyes left the boy in front of her to glare at the bald guy.

He ignored her and turned to green eyes. "We gotta leave dude. Let's get these three to camp and figure everything out heir. The storm spirits might come back."

The boy, Percy was his name, sighed disappointedly. He looked desperate to find whoever he was looking for. He turned to Reyna and looked her dead in the. Reyna got the message: _Come with us or die at the hands of storm spirits_.

Reyna looked behind her at Leo and Piper. Leo looked pretty bad and Piper was obviously unstable. She knew they'd stick with her if she didn't go with these boys. But that would be selfish. She grudgingly took the knife off Percy's neck, "We'll sort this out later.

She moved back and put free Leo's arm over her shoulder again and walked with Piper toward the chariot, making sure to bump into Percy as she went.

**We're done with yet another chapter and I think the next will be in Leo's POV.**

**I had so much fun writing this and I hope ya'll like it. R&R.**

**Also I'm still wondering about what to do with Piper, I really want to try writing what I like to call Jalypso, but I'd hate to disappoint the Jasper fans out there.**

**Any thoughts?**


	3. Pt:1 Welcome, Welcome to CHB

**A/N: I decided to make pretty much everything in the Lost Heroine part of the story in Reyna's POV since we already know pretty much everything about Leo and Piper.**

**Disclaimer: I don't think I did this in the previous chapters but I own nothing. Also there are lots of incidences of actual TLH dialogue in this chapter.**

**This chapter is way shorter than I would've liked.**

**Part I: The Lost Heroine**

**Chapter 3: Welcome, Welcome to CHB!**

**Reyna**

**REYNA WAS PRETTY SURE SHE **was missing some very important detail. Well, apart from all the other pretty important details of who she was and what she was doing here or how she fought of those storm spirits. Or how she even knew they were storm spirits.

Percy and Butch where no help. Percy was –or seemingly trying to- adjusting some sort of bronze navigator while Butch handled the reins. Leo had fainted and was currently resting his head on Piper, who was so pale she looked like a breathing corpse.

_Probably the heights. _Reyna thought, dismissing any other theories.

She had more important things to think about. Like what Dylan was talking about. He'd mentioned some sort of mistress that he was so desperate to please. Monsters didn't usually obey one person so willingly. Reyna was sure of that (of course she had no idea why). Whoever this Mistress was, she was powerful. Reyna subconsciously clenched her right hand, the cold feeling of her ring sending shivers through her body. Dylan's mistress, whoever she was, was out for hers, Piper's, and Leo's blood. Reyna barely knew them, but she'd protect them. With her life.

The chariot lurched and bumped. It had no seat belts and the back was wide open. Reyna wondered why it didn't bother her that they were millions of miles in the air, flying in chariot pulled by a couple of temperamental looking horses. She was sure she would've been completely at ease if it wasn't for that Percy boy.

Or the strange feeling in her gut that told her they were going in the complete opposite direction of where they should be going.

"Where are you taking us?" She spat. Using the same commanding voice she had recently discovered she could use.

"A safe place," Butch said. "The _only _safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood?" Piper was immediately on guard. Her pale face turning into a furious red. From her friends tone Reyna could tell Piper had a problem with that word. "Is that some kind of bad joke?"

"She means we're demigods," Reyna explained immediately. "Half god, half mortal."

Percy looked back. "You seem to know a lot, Reyna." He observed suspiciously. "But, yeah, demigods. My dad is Poseidon, god of the sea, earthquakes and horses. Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess."

"Your mother's a rainbow goddess?" Reyna scoffed before she could help herself. She immediately put her serious façade. Now wasn't the time to laugh, she had to figure out what was going on.

"You have a problem with that?" Butch said, his threat surfacing ever so slightly.

"Demigods," Piper said. "You mean you think you're … you think we're—"

Whatever Piper wanted to ask was soon forgotten. Lightening flashed and the chariot shuddered. "Left wheel's on fire!" Reyna yelled.

Reyna was tempted to step forward and take control of the chariot. Wind roared and when she looked back she saw dark, cloud like shapes appear out of nowhere.

Storm spirits. Only the looked like horses rather than angels.

Piper slapped Leo in the cheek a few times, waking him up. He stood up with her and groaned. "Seriously, not those things again."

"Reyna, why are–"

"_Anemoi__, _Annabeth once said something about them." Percy interrupted Piper. "They come in different shapes. Horses, humans, depending on how chaotic they are."

Butch flicked the reins. The Pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred. Reyna felt adrenaline rushing through her veins and the strange urge to scream in delight. This was her kind of ride. Her vision went black, and when it came back to normal, they were in a totally different place.

A cold gray ocean stretched out to the left. Snow-covered fields, roads, and forests spread to the right. Directly below them was a green valley, like an island of springtime, rimmed with snowy hills on three sides and water to the north. Reyna saw a cluster of buildings like ancient Greek temples, a big blue mansion, ball courts, a lake, and a climbing wall that seemed to be on fire. But before she could really process all she was seeing, their wheels came off and the chariot dropped out of the sky.

Percy and Butch tried to maintain control. The Pegasi labored to hold the chariot in a flight pattern, but they seemed exhausted from their burst of speed, and bearing the chariot and the weight of five people was just too much.

"The lake!" Reyna yelled. "Aim for the lake!"

Something like this had happened to her before, she was sure of that. Still, she wasn't very prepared for what came next.

_BOOM._

It was like hitting concrete. Except much, much worse. The worst thing was the cold, and Reyna hated the cold. She could swim, sure, but she was so disoriented that she couldn't exactly distinguish which way was up.

She started to panic, the adrenaline making its way out of her system. She'd been in a situation like this before. She was too disoriented to swim. She was going to die, just like the last time. Her vision was filled by fiery torches and she could here screams in her head. Screams she had caused.

And then the sea nymphs arrived –at least they looked like sea nymphs. Long black hair and glowing yellow eyes. They smiled at her, grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her onto the shore.

She panted to calm herself. No one screamed anymore. There were no torches, thank the gods. Nearby, Butch stood in the lake, cutting the wrecked harnesses off the pegasi. Fortunately, the horses looked okay, but they were flapping their wings and splashing water everywhere. Piper, Leo, and Percy were already on shore, surrounded by kids giving them blankets and asking questions. Somebody took Reyna by the arms and helped her stand. Apparently kids fell into the lake a lot, because a detail of campers ran up with big bronze leaf blower–looking things and blasted Reyna with hot air; and in about two seconds her clothes were dry.

There were at least twenty campers milling around—the youngest maybe nine, the oldest college age, eighteen or nineteen—and all of them had orange T-shirts like Percy's. Reyna looked back at the water and saw the nymphs just below the surface, their hair floating in the current. They disappeared into the depths. A second later the wreckage of the chariot was tossed from the lake and landed nearby with a wet crunch.

"Percy!" A guy with a bow and quiver on his back pushed through the crowd. "I said you could _borrow _the chariot, not destroy it!"

"Will, dude, I'm sorry," Percy sighed. "I'll get it fixed, I promise."

Will scowled at his broken chariot. Then he sized up Piper, Leo, and Reyna, his gaze especially lingering on Piper. "These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven't they been claimed already?"

"Claimed?" Leo asked. He seemed to have totally regained his senses. Well, assuming he had any senses to regain.

Before anyone could explain, Will said, "Any sign of Annabeth?"

"No," Percy admitted.

The campers muttered. Reyna had no idea who this Annabeth was, but her disappearance seemed to be a big deal.

Another girl stepped forward—tall, Asian, dark hair in ringlets, plenty of jewelry, and perfect makeup. Somehow she managed to make jeans and an orange T-shirt look glamorous. She glanced at Leo, fixed her eyes on Reyna like she might be worthy of some attention, then curled her lip at Piper as if she were a week-old burrito that had just been pulled out of a Dumpster. Reyna knew this girl's type. The female equivalent to Dylan. Reyna glared at her, she didn't like Piper, so Reyna didn't like her.

"Well," the girl said, "I hope they're worth the trouble."

Leo snorted. "Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?"

"No kidding," Reyna mumbled, stopping herself from brandishing a weapon with great difficulty. She had more important thing to deal with, this glamour girl was a serious waste of time.

"How about some answers before you start judging us—like, what is this place, why are we here, how long do we have to stay?" Piper demanded.

_Who am I? Why do I feel like I don't belong here? Like you're all the enemy. _Reyna wanted to ask, but she stopped herself. She was sure that the only people she trusted were Leo and Piper. Percy already knew about her amnesia and he'd probably tell that director guy Hedge kept going on about. She couldn't show any weakness. Not in enemy territory.

"Piper," Percy said, "I promise we'll answer your questions. And Drew"—she frowned at the glamour girl—"all demigods are worth saving. But I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped."

"Hey," Piper said, "we didn't ask to be brought here."

Drew sniffed. "And nobody _wants _you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?"

Piper stepped forward, ready to smack her. "Piper, stop." Reyna put a hand on her shoulder to restrain her. Reyna wanted Piper to whoop that smug little grin of Drew's face, but the tactical part of her knew that would be a stupid move.

Piper listened. But her body was still tense, like she would attack at any moment.

"We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome," Percy said, with another pointed look at Drew. "We'll assign them each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight, they'll be claimed."

"Would somebody tell me what _claimed _means?" Piper asked.

Suddenly there was a collective gasp. The campers backed away. At first Reyna thought Piper had done something wrong. Her right hand clenched, preparing for battle. Then she realized their faces were bathed in a strange red light, as if someone had lit a torch behind her. She turned and her eyes widened considerably.

Floating over Leo's head was a blazing holographic image —a fiery hammer.

"That," Percy said with a frown, "is claiming."

"What'd I do?" Leo backed toward the lake. Then he glanced up and yelped. "Is my hair on fire?" He ducked, but the symbol followed him, bobbing and weaving so it looked like he was trying to write something in flames with his head. He tried to swat it away, like he was chasing away a mosquito, but the symbol didn't budge.

"This can't be good, The curse—" Butch stopped talking when Percy snuck him a poorly attempted covert glance.

Percy continued, "Leo, you've just been claimed—"

"By a god," Reyna interrupted, her impulse getting the better of her for not the first time that day. "That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it?"

All eyes turned to her.

"Reyna," Percy said carefully, "how did you know that?"

"I'm not sure." Reyna sighed, to fed up to start yelling how she didn't know _anything_.

Percy looked at her for a while and then shrugged. He probably thought she was crazy or something, Reyna couldn't blame him. If she was attacked by some amnesiac who claimed to know nothing about herself, but knew everything about everything else, well she'd think they were pretty crazy too.

"Vulcan?" Leo demanded. "I don't even LIKE _Star Trek _. What are you talking about?"

"Isn't Vulcan the Roman name for Hephaestus," Reyna heard the guy with the bow ask himself. Roman gods, that made her brain twitch.

Percy laughed at Leo, though his laugh sounded a little forced. "Your dad's the god of blacksmiths and fire."

The fiery hammer faded, but Leo kept swatting the air like he was afraid it was following him. "The god of _what_? Who?"

Percy turned to the guy with the bow. "Will, would you take Leo, give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunk-mates in Cabin Nine."

"Sure, Perce."

"What about Reyna and Piper? What's Cabin Nine? " Leo asked. "And I'm not a Vulcan!"

"Come on, Mr. Spock, I'll explain everything." Will put a hand on his shoulder and steered him off toward the cabins.

Percy turned his attention to Reyna. He was looking her up and down as if scanning her for something. Reyna didn't like it. She didn't like him. There was something about those sea green eyes that made her want to rip out his windpipe with her bear hands. He knew this, but he still stared, like Reyna was some sort of complicated blueprint.

"Hold out your hand." He finally said.

Reyna didn't take orders. But she held it out, not really understanding what good it would do.

Piper's eyes widened and when Reyna saw what Piper and Percy were looking at her eyes widened a little bit too

Reyna's cardigan had flown off at some point during the flight, leaving her arms bare. On the inside of her right forearm was a tattoo. How had Reyna never noticed it before? It was _her_ arm after all. The tattoo couldn't have just _appeared_, but it was darkly etched into Reyna's slightly tanned skin, impossible to miss: a dozen straight lines like a bar code, and over that a torch crossed by a sword, just like on her ring, and the letters SPQR.

"Where is Annabeth Reyna?" Percy's frown had grown, far beyond menacing.

Reyna sighed, not at all fazed. "I'm getting _really_ tired of saying this: I. Have. No. _Fucking_. Clue."

"Hera said that you'd know where she was!" Percy snarled. "She said the girl with the Tattoo would have the answers!"

Reyna was about to pounce, a golden sword materializing in her hand, but Piper put a hand on her shoulder like Reyna had done for her. "Look, Percy. We don't know your girlfriend. And even if Reyna did, she has no idea who she is, she couldn't help you."

Piper had said this evenly, but at the same time with intense emotion. Percy totally relaxed, seemingly believing every word Piper had said. Reyna relaxed as well. How had Piper even done that, she'd made Percy go from murderous to totally normal.

No one said anything. It was clear the campers saw Percy as the leader. They were waiting for his verdict. Attack the crazy sword wielding bitch.

"She needs to go straight to Chiron," Percy decided eventually. He seemed extremely reluctant, but he turned to glamour girl.. "Drew, would you—"

"Absolutely." Drew laced her arm through Reyna's like they were the best of friends. "This way, sweetie. I'll introduce you to our director. He's … an _interesting _guy." She flashed Piper a look of pure hatred before leading Reyna toward the big blue house on the hill.

~o0o~

"-So I was like, Jean, hon. It's conditioner then relaxer. Seriously you'd think any normal human being would know that." Drew had told her about twelve stories in the one minute walk. Reyna was normal, or at least, normal by amnesiac standards and she was pretty sure she couldn't care less about hair or whatever crap Drew was going on about.

Drew seemed to like her. Reyna wasn't vain, but she had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that she looked halfway decent. _At least Leo thinks so_. Not that she cared about what Leo thought.

Drew hated Piper and Reyna didn't know much about herself but she knew she was loyal to her friends, so she hated Drew.

It didn't make much sense though. Piper was easily prettier than Reyna. Maybe Drew was just insecure. Or had something against Piper's snow jacket, which Reyna agreed wasn't the most fashionable article of clothing.

"Here we are!" Drew said cheerfully. "The Big House, camp headquarters."

It didn't look threatening, just a four-story manor painted baby blue with white trim. The wraparound porch had lounge chairs, a card table, and an empty wheelchair. Wind chimes shaped like nymphs turned into trees as they spun. Reyna could imagine old people coming here for summer vacation, sitting on the porch and sipping prune juice while they watched the sunset. Still, the windows seemed to glare down at her like angry eyes. The wide open doorway looked ready to swallow her. On the highest gable, a bronze eagle weathervane spun in the wind and pointed straight in her direction, as if telling her to turn around.

Every molecule in Reyna's body told her she was on enemy ground.

"I am _not _supposed to be here," she mumbled, more to herself than to Drew.

But Drew heard and she patted Reyna. "Oh, please. You're _perfect _here, sweetie. Believe me." Drew turned to leave. "When your done pass by the Aphrodite cabin, I'd _love_ to help you braid your hair. Toodles!"

Reyna raised an eyebrow at the strange girl. That was why she was so nice: because she liked Reyna's hair? Reyna touched her already unraveling braid. Her hair was nice, but who would've thought it tamed the hearts of even the most savage of people.

The h footsteps on the front porch drew her attention. No—not footsteps—_hooves_. For a minute, a very happy minute, she thought it was Hedge. Then she turned around.

At the corner of the porch was a man on horseback. Except he wasn't on horseback—he was part of the horse. From the waist up he was human, with curly brown hair and a well-trimmed beard. He wore a T-shirt that said _World's Best Centaur_, and had a quiver and bow strapped to his back. His head was so high up he had to duck to avoid the porch lights, because from the waist down, he was a white stallion.

Nope, that definitely wasn't Hedge.

The centaur started to smile at Reyna. Then the color drained from his face.

"You …" The centaur's eyes flared like a cornered animal's. "Octavian and Lupa said you were dead."

~o0o~

**Y'know I just realized that I'm probably posting this while all of you are asleep…**

**Review?**


	4. Pt:1 The 'We Hate Juno' Club

**Disclaimer: Same as last time. Also lots of actual dialogue.**

**Part I: The Lost Heroine**

**Chapter 4: The 'We Hate Juno!' Club**

**Reyna**

**OCTAVIAN. REYNA KNEW THAT NAME **and she was pretty sure she hated its owner. The burning hatred filling up her chest confirmed that. The centaur, Chiron had invited –or more like ordered in Reyna opinion- Reyna inside.

The centaur trotted over to the empty wheelchair on the porch. He slipped off his quiver and bow and backed up to the chair, which opened like a magician's box. Chiron gingerly stepped into it with his back legs and began scrunching himself into a space that should've been much too small. Reyna wasn't very surprised when the centaur's lower half disappeared and the chair folded up, popping out a set of fake human legs covered in a blanket, so Chiron appeared to be a regular mortal guy in a wheelchair.

She'd seen a lot of stuff in the past twenty four hours, stuff she knew couldn't even compare to what she had seen daily.

If only she could remember it.

"Follow me," he ordered. "We have lemonade."

The living room looked like it had been swallowed by a rain forest. Grapevines curved up the walls and across the ceiling, which Reyna found a little strange. She did not think plants grew like that inside, especially in the winter, but these were leafy green and bursting with bunches of red grapes.

Leather couches faced a stone fireplace with a crackling fire. Wedged in one corner, an old-style Pac-Man arcade game beeped and blinked.

Mounted on the walls was an assortment of masks—smile/frown Greek theater types, feathered Mardi Gras masks, Venetian _Carnevale_masks with big beaklike noses, carved wooden masks from Africa. Grapevines grew through their mouths so they seemed to have leafy tongues. Some had red grapes bulging through their eyeholes.

But the weirdest thing was the stuffed leopard's head above the fireplace. It looked so real, its eyes seemed to follow Reyna. Then it snarled, and Reyna nearly leaped out of her skin. She wasn't a cat person, at least she thought she wasn't, and the leopard didn't look like much of a Reyna person either.

"Now, Seymour," Chiron chided. "Reyna is a friend. Behave yourself."

"That thing is alive." Reyna observed through clenched teeth. Her eyes narrowing at the creature, who glared back at her defiantly.

Chiron rummaged through the side pocket of his wheelchair and brought out a package of Snausages. He threw one to the leopard, who snapped it up and licked his lips.

"You must excuse the décor," Chiron said. "All this was a parting gift from our old director before he was recalled to Mount Olympus. He thought it would help us to remember him. Mr. D has a strange sense of humor."

Reyna agreed silently, still too preoccupied with glaring at the Leopard. Mr. D, whoever that was, had a _really_ strange sense of humor. Who in their right mind would keep a cat, or in this case anything from the _Panthera__pardus_ family?" "Who's Mr. D?" She asked before answering herself. "Dionysus right?" She had to stop herself from saying Bacchus. Everyone at this camp used Greek names. That didn't seem right…

"Mmm hmm." Chiron poured lemonade, though his hands were trembling a little. "As for Seymour, well, Mr. D liberated him from a Long Island garage sale. The leopard is Mr. D's sacred animal, you see, and Mr. D was appalled that someone would stuff such a noble creature. He decided to grant it life, on the assumption that life as a mounted head was better than no life at all. I must say it's a kinder fate than Seymour's previous owner got."

Seymour bared his fangs and sniffed the air, as if hunting for more Snausages.

"If he's only a head," Reyna said titling her head slightly to observe the stuffed head thoroughly. "Where does the food go when he eats?"

"Better not to ask," Chiron coughed. "Please, sit."

Reyna covertly sniffed the cups contents, acting like she was preparing to drink.

No poison.

She sighed, having long given up on wondering how she knew all this stuff.

She took some lemonade, though her stomach was fluttering. She didn't belong here. Chiron was the enemy, she could feel it.

He didn't seem too bad though, just like an old man. He gave her the impression of a teacher she knew, though she couldn't remember a name. Someone wise and all knowing. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe she even knew Chiron?

The centaur, now human looking, sat back in his wheelchair and tried for a smile, but Reyna could tell it was forced. The old man's eyes were as deep and dark as wells. And the only emotion they emitted was confusion

"So, Reyna," he said, "would you mind telling me—ah—where you're from?"

"I wish I knew." Reyna told him the whole story, from waking up on the bus to crash-landing at Camp Half-Blood. She didn't tell him about the mistress thing though. Reyna couldn't trust anyone at this camp. What if everyone worked for this Mistress? What if Chiron did? He was a good listener. He didn't react to the story, other than to nod encouragingly for more.

_Like he already knows everything_.

When Reyna was done, the old man sipped his lemonade.

"I see," Chiron said at length. Nodding as if to himself. "And you must have questions for me." She did, she had tons. But if she asked she might slip up, divulge the parts of the story she was trying so desperately to hide. "Only one," She falsely admitted. Thanking the gods she was a convincing liar. "What did you mean when you said that Octavian and Lupa said I was dead?"

Chiron studied her with concern, as if he expected Reyna to burst into flames. "My child, do you know what those marks on your arm mean? Do you remember anything?"

Reyna looked at the tattoo on her forearm: SPQR, the sword crossing over a torch, twelve straight lines.

"No," she sighed. "I keep telling you people. I know nothing."

"Do you know where you are?" Chiron asked, stroking his beard hopefully. "Do you understand what this place is, and who I am?"

"You're Chiron the centaur," Reyna answered as if from memory. "You're the same one from the old stories, who used to train the Greek heroes like Hercules. This is a camp for demigods, children of the Olympian gods."

Only it wasn't. This camp didn't feel like a demigod camp, at least not the demigod camp that she somehow knew. It was too disorganized to be Camp, too unfamiliar.

"So you believe those gods still exist?" Chiron continued.

"Yes," Reyna said immediately. "I mean, I don't think we should _worship _them or sacrifice chickens to them or anything, but they're still around because they're a powerful part of civilization. They move from country to country as the center of power shifts—like they moved from Ancient Greece to Rome."

"_I couldn't have said it better." _Something about Chiron's voice had changed. It sounded so familiar. _"So you already know the gods are real. You have already been claimed, haven't you?"_

"_Maybe," _Reyna answered, but something within her knew she had. The torch crossed by the sword. _"I'm not really sure."_

Seymour the leopard snarled.

Chiron waited, and Reyna realized what had just happened. The centaur had switched to another language and Reyna had understood, automatically answering in the same tongue.

"_Quis__erat__—" _Reyna faltered, then made a conscious effort to speak English. "What was that?"

"You know Latin," Chiron observed. His voice was grave and worried, like knowing Latin was a bad thing. "Most demigods recognize a few phrases, of course. It's in their blood, but not as much as Ancient Greek. None can speak Latin fluently without practice."

Reyna tried to wrap her mind around what that meant, but too many pieces were missing from her memory. She still had the feeling that she shouldn't be here. It was wrong—and dangerous.

The fire reflected in Chiron's eyes, making them dance fretfully. "I have taught many Reyna. Occasionally, Demigods have happy endings. Mostly, they don't. It breaks my heart, like losing a child each time one of my pupils dies. But you—you are not like any pupil I've ever taught. Your presence here could be a disaster."

"Thanks," Reyna's shoulders slumped slightly. "You must be an inspiring teacher."

"I am sorry, my child. But it's true. I had hoped that after Percy's success—"

"Percy, you mean the…guy who brought us to Camp?" Reyna had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from calling Percy an asshole.

Chiron nodded. "I hoped that after he succeeded in the Titan War and saved Mount Olympus, we might have some peace. I might be able to enjoy one final triumph, a happy ending, and perhaps retire quietly. I should have known better. The last chapter approaches, just as it did before. The worst is yet to come."

"Okay," Reyna drawled, slowly losing her patience. She needed to leave as soon as possible. "All that sounds extremely important, but can we go back to the part where I'm supposed to be dead? _Please_. I don't quite enjoy that part."

"I'm afraid I can't explain, my child. I swore on the River Styx and on all things sacred that I would never …" Chiron frowned. "But you're here, in violation of the same oath. That too, should not be possible. I don't understand. Who would've done such a thing? Who—"

Seymour the leopard howled. His mouth froze, half open. The arcade game stopped beeping. The fire stopped crackling, its flames hardening like red glass. The masks stared down silently at Reyna with their grotesque grape eyes and leafy tongues.

"Chiron?" Reyna asked. "What's going—"

The old centaur had frozen, too. Reyna jumped off the couch, but Chiron kept staring at the same spot, his mouth open mid-sentence. His eyes didn't blink. His chest didn't move.

_Reyna_, a voice said.

For a horrible moment, she thought the leopard had spoken. Then dark mist boiled out of Seymour's mouth, and an even worse thought occurred to Reyna: _storm spirits_.

She prepared to summon a weapon, but stopped. This wasn't a storm spirit.

The mist took the form of a woman in black robes. Her face was hooded, but her eyes glowed in the darkness. Over her shoulders she wore a goatskin cloak. Reyna wasn't sure how she knew it was goatskin, but she recognized it and knew it was important.

_I thought so? _The woman chided. Her voice echoed in Reyna's head. _Would you really attack me?_

"Who are you?" Reyna demanded. "How did you—"

_Our time is limited, Reyna. My prison grows stronger by the hour. It took me a full month to gather enough energy to work even the smallest magic through its bonds. I've managed to bring you here, but now I have little time left, and even less power. This may be the last time I can speak to you._

"You're in prison?" Reyna decided she wanted a weapon and a gold sword erupted into her hands. "Look, I don't know you, hell I don't know _me. _So if you know something tell me. _Now._"

The lady made a _tsk_ing sound and chuckled. _You have the gal to threaten me? You really are so much like your mother. You do at least remember your darling mother?_

Reyna squeezed her eyes shut in frustration. "I don't remember. I don't remember anything."

_No, you don't, _she agreed. _That also was necessary. I needed someone with your vigor and skill for this kind of task, I almost chose Jason, but clearly, you are the better choice._

Jason. That name was so familiar it hurt. Reyna growled. "Who are you?"

_That doesn't matter. _The lady smiled evilly._ All that does is that you belong to me._

"I don't belong to anyone." Reyna didn't. She was her own person. She did what she had to do, her duty, not because someone told her to, but because she wanted to.

_I know this child, _Goatskin lady said, as if reading Reyna's mind. _And you will help me to save your friends._

"My friends? Leo and Piper?"

_Find my prison. Free me_, _or their king will rise from the earth, and I will be destroyed. You will never retrieve your memory._

"Is that a threat? You _took _my memories."

_You have until sunset on the solstice, Reyna. Four short days__. __Do not fail me._ The dark woman dissolved, and the mist curled into the leopard's mouth.

Time unfroze. Seymour's howl turned into a cough like he'd sucked in a hair ball. The fire crackled to life, the arcade machine beeped, and Chiron continued "—would dare to bring you here?"

"Probably the goatskin lady in the mist," Reyna mumbled.

Chiron looked up in surprise. "Weren't you just sitting … why do you have a sword drawn?"

"Your leopard just ate a goddess," Reyna clarified irritably, her sword shrinking back into the ring.

He told Chiron about the frozen-in-time visit, the dark misty figure that disappeared into Seymour's mouth.

"Oh, dear," Chiron murmured. "That does explain a lot."

"Then why don't you explain a lot to me?" Reyna ordered. She didn't care whether Chiron was immortal or was probably working with the enemy. She was too angry to think straight. She wanted answers. She wanted to go home. "I think I've been confused for far too long. Where the hell am I _really_? And who is Jason? What is going on!"

Before Chiron could say anything, footsteps reverberated on the porch outside. The front door blew open, and Percy and another girl, a redhead, burst in, dragging Piper between them. Reyna froze, rant soon forgotten. Piper's head lolled like she was unconscious.

They'd killed her. It was probably Percy. He'd done…something to Reyna before and that wasn't enough for him, he wanted to take away everything.

"What happened? What have you done to Piper!" Before Reyna knew it she'd summoned a long golden spear and was ready to impale Percy.

"Hera's cabin," Percy gasped, like they'd run all the way. He ignored the spear and turned to Chiron. "Vision. Bad."

The redheaded girl looked up, and Reyna saw that she'd been crying.

"I think …" The redheaded girl gulped. "I think I may have killed her." ~o0o~

When Chiron got Reyna to calmdown heand the redhead, who introduced herself as Rachel, put Piper on the couch while Percy rushed down the hall to get a med kit. Piper was still breathing, but she wouldn't wake up. She seemed to be in some kind of coma.

"We've got to heal her," Reyna insisted. "There's a way, right?"

Seeing her so pale, barely breathing, Reyna felt a surge of protectiveness. Maybe she didn't really know Piper and Piper's memories of her were fake. Maybe Piper was like everyone at this camp, maybe she couldn't be trusted. But Reyna was sure they were friends, they'd survived the storm spirits together. Piper was nice and she'd saved Reyna's life. Reyna wouldn't be able to live with herself if Piper died before she could even say thank you.

Chiron put his hand on her forehead and grimaced. "Her mind is in a fragile state. Rachel, what happened?"

"I wish I knew," she said. "As soon as I got to camp, I had a premonition about Hera's cabin. I went inside. Percy and Piper came in while I was there. We talked, and then—I just blanked out. Percy said I spoke in a different voice."

"A prophecy?" Chiron asked.

"No. The spirit of Delphi comes from within. I know how that feels. This was like long distance, a power trying to speak through me."

Percy ran in with a leather pouch. He knelt next to Piper. "Chiron, what happened back there—I don't think any of us have ever seen anything like it. I've heard Rachel's prophecy voice. This was different. She sounded like some old lady. She grabbed Piper's shoulders and told her—"

"To free her from a prison?" Reyna guessed, a humorless smile gracing her lips as she rolled her eyes.

Percy stared at her suspiciously. "How did you know that?"

Chiron made a three-fingered gesture over his heart, like a ward against evil.

"Reyna, tell them. Percy, the medicine bag, please."

Chiron trickled drops from a medicine vial into Piper's mouth while Reyna, reluctantly, explained what had happened when the room froze—the dark misty woman who had claimed to have taken away Reyna's memory.

When she was done, no one spoke, which made her feel extremely anxious.

"I assume this isn't a regular occurrence?" Reyna had to ask, for some reason she could really imagine random supernatural communication going on at this camp. Like Godbook or Iris-gram.

"She's not your godly parent?" Percy looked like his brain was in overdrive. Trying to figure out why a random goddess in goatskin would talk to Reyna.

"No," Reyna sighed irritably. "All she said was that I belonged to her and that I had four days."

Reyna never mentioned Jason. He seemed like a private issue. His name still etched in her mind. Who was he? Why is it that whenever she tried to remember him she felt a hollowness in her chest?

Percy frowned. "I've never of heard anything like that before. You said you were attacked by storm spirits, maybe that lady was an illusion made by one of them, messing with your mind?"

Reyna shut her eyes and rubbed her temples. Percy was so oblivious it was sad. He must have been a really good fighter, because honestly, Reyna couldn't see how this idiot could save the world. "Storm spirits don't radiate that sort of power," She said as patiently as she could. "If she were my enemy, why would she be asking for my help? She's imprisoned. She's worried about some enemy getting more powerful. Something about a king rising from the earth on the solstice—"

Percy blanched and turned to Chiron. "Not Kronos. Please tell me it's not that."

The centaur looked miserable. He held Piper's wrist, checking her pulse.

At last he said, "It is not Kronos. That threat is ended. But …"

"But what?" Percy pushed hopefully.

Chiron closed the medicine bag. "Piper needs rest. We should discuss this later."

"Or now," Reyna's voice had its icy, result getting edge back.. "Chiron, you told me the greatest threat was coming. The last chapter. You can't possibly mean something worse than an army of Titans, right?"

He did mean something _far _worse than Titans. Reyna wasn't stupid. This goddess, whoever, wanted to be freed to prevent some great evil. Some king. Gods usually never asked for help. Whatever this was it was big and Reyna wanted to know everything before getting involved.

"Oh," Rachel said in a small voice. Like she'd just realized something. "Oh, dear. The woman was Hera. Of course. Her cabin, her voice. She showed herself to Reyna at the same moment."

"Hera?" Percy's snarl was even fiercer than Seymour's. "_She _took you over? She did this to Piper?"

"I think Rachel's right," Reyna answered. "The woman did seem like a goddess. And she wore this—this goatskin cloak. That's a symbol of Juno, isn't it?"

"Who's Juno?" Percy scowled. "I've never heard of him."

_Of course he hadn't_.

Chiron nodded reluctantly and sighing at Percy. "Of Juno, Hera's Roman aspect, in her most warlike state. The goatskin cloak was a symbol of the Roman soldier."

"So Hera is imprisoned?" Rachel asked. "Who could do that to the queen of the gods?"

Percy crossed his arms, a small mirthless smile crossed his lips and he let out a long and low whistle. "Well, whoever they are, maybe we should thank them. If they can shut up Hera—"

"Percy," Chiron warned, though Reyna could've sworn she saw a twinkle of humor in the centaur's eyes. Great a goddess was trapped and people had time to laugh about it. Reyna felt the sudden urge to slap each of them for their unprofessionalism. "She is still one of the Olympians. In many ways, she is the glue that holds the gods' family together. If she truly has been imprisoned and is in danger of destruction, this could shake the foundations of the world. It could unravel the stability of Olympus, which is never great even in the best of times. And if Hera has asked Reyna for help—"

"Fine," Percy grumbled. "Well, we know Titans can capture a god, right? Atlas captured Artemis a few years ago. What could be worse than a Titan… ?"

Reyna looked at the leopard's head. Seymour was smacking his lips like the goddess had tasted much better than a Snausage. She probably didn't though. "Hera said she'd been trying to break through her prison bonds for a month."

"Which is how long Olympus has been closed," Rachel pointed out. "So the gods must know something bad is going on."

"But why use her energy to send me here?" Reyna asked. "She wiped my memory, plopped me into the Wilderness School, and sent you a dream vision to come pick me up. Why am I so important? Why not just send up an emergency flare to the other gods—let them know where she is so they bust her out?"

"The gods need heroes to do their will down here on earth," Rachel said. "That's right, isn't it? Their fates are always intertwined with demigods."

"That's true," Percy said, "but Reyna's got a point. Why her? Why take her memory?"

"And Piper's involved somehow," Rachel said. "Hera sent her the same message—_Free me_. And, Percy, this must have something to do with Annabeth's disappearing."

Percy's face went grave and he fixed his eyes on Chiron. "Why are you so quiet, Chiron? What is it we're facing?"

The old centaur's face looked like it had aged ten years in a matter of minutes. The lines around his eyes were deeply etched. "My boy, in this, I cannot help you. I am so sorry."

Percy blinked. His pale face turned red with rage. "Annabeth's missing Chiron. If you know something you should tell—"

"I will be in my office." His voice was heavy. "I need some time to think before dinner. Rachel, will you watch the girl? Call Argus to bring her to the infirmary, if you'd like. And Percy, you should find Malcolm. He should speak with Reyna. Tell him to tell her about—about the Greek and Roman gods."

"But …"

The centaur turned his wheelchair and rolled off down the hallway. Percy's eyes turned stormy. He muttered something that must have been a Greek curse, and Reyna smiled, pleased that someone was as disgruntled by Chiron as she was.

Reyna didn't like Percy, but she felt a little pity towards him. His girlfriend was gone and there was nothing he could do about it because whenever he tried something else would come up. Reyna patted him on the back. "If it makes you feel any better Chiron wouldn't tell me anything either. He said it would be going back on an oath."

"Oath?" Percy raised a brow "The last time he hid important information from me..."

His voice trailed off. He probably didn't want to remember…Reyna frowned feeling like someone was watching her.

It was Rachel. She was looking at Reyna's right hand.

"That ring," she said. "Do you remember where you got it?"

"No," Reyna said. "Like I said, I don't remember anything."

Rachel nodded, like she'd just come up with a rather desperate plan. "If Chiron won't help, we'll need to figure things out ourselves. Which means… Cabin Fifteen. Percy, you'll keep an eye on Piper?"

"Sure," Percy promised with a nod, his eyes dark. "Good luck, you two."

"Hold on," Reyna said. "What's in Cabin Fifteen?"

Rachel stood. "Maybe a way to get your memory back."

They headed toward a newer wing of cabins in the southwest corner of the green. Some were fancy, with glowing walls or blazing torches, but Cabin

Fifteen was not so dramatic. It looked like an old-fashioned prairie house with mud walls and a rush roof. On the door hung a wreath of crimson flowers.

_Red poppies,_ Reyna thought, though she wasn't sure how she knew. Just like with everything else.

"You think this is my parent's cabin?" she asked. Reyna wasn't proud or anything, but she had a feeling her parent was a little more…dramatic, exciting. Hera/Juno had said that she was just like her mom, who Reyna assumed was her godly parent. If this place was a representation of a god, then Reyna was absolutely sure she didn't belong here. This place made Reyna feel drowsy.

"No," Rachel said. "This is the cabin for Hypnos, the god of sleep."

"Then why—"

"You've forgotten everything," she said. "I'm not really good with all the gods, but I'm sure that if there's any god who can help us figure out memory loss, it's Hypnos."

Inside, even though it was almost dinnertime, three kids were sound asleep under piles of covers. A warm fire crackled in the hearth. Above the mantel hung a tree branch, each twig dripping white liquid into a collection of tin bowls. Reyna was tempted to catch a drop on her finger just to see what it was, but she held herself back. That would be a stupid move in enemy territory.

Soft violin music played from somewhere. The air smelled like fresh laundry. The cabin was so cozy and peaceful that Reyna's eyelids started to feel heavy. She was tired. She felt like she hadn't slept in forever. Just last night she lost her memory, killed a couple of monsters and met a goat-man. A nap wouldn't be so bad. Yeah…A nap sounded like a great idea. There were plenty of empty beds, all with feather pillows and fresh sheets and fluffy quilts and —Rachel nudged her. "Snap out of it."

Reyna blinked. She realized her knees had been starting to buckle.

"Cabin Fifteen does that to everyone," Rachel warned. "If you ask me, this place is even more dangerous than the Ares cabin. At least with Ares, you can learn where the land mines are."

"Land mines?" That sounded like a blast. Literally.

Rachel walked up to the nearest snoring kid and shook his shoulder. "Clovis! Wake up!"

The kid looked like a baby cow. He had a blond tuft of hair on a wedge-shaped head, with thick features and a thick neck. His body was stocky, but he had spindly little arms like he'd never lifted anything heavier than a pillow.

"Clovis!" Rachel shook harder, then finally knocked on his forehead about six times.

"Wh-wh-what?" Clovis complained, sitting up and squinting. He yawned hugely, and both Rachel and Reyna yawned too.

"Stop that!" Rachel said. "We need your help."

"I was sleeping."

"You're _always _sleeping."

"Good night."

Before he could pass out, Rachel yanked his pillow off the bed.

"That's not fair," Clovis complained meekly. "Give it back."

"First help," Rachel said. "Then sleep."

Clovis sighed. His breath smelled like warm milk. "Fine. What?"

Rachel explained about Reyna's problem. Every once in a while she'd snap her fingers under Clovis's nose to keep him awake.

Clovis must have been really excited, because when Rachel was done, he didn't pass out. He actually stood and stretched, then blinked at Reyna.

"So you don't remember anything, huh?"

"Just impressions," Reyna said. "Feelings, like …"

"Yes?" Clovis said.

Reyna hesitated. Rachel seemed nice and so did this Clovis guy, but could she trust anyone. They were the enemy and…she was really, really sleepy. "Like I know I shouldn't be here. At this camp. I'm in danger."

"Hmm. Close your eyes."

Reyna glanced at Rachel, but she nodded reassuringly.

Reyna was too groggy to think about precaution. These guys would probably kill her if she as much as blinked. Her eyes fluttered shut and soon she was afraid she'd end up snoring in one of the bunks forever. Her thoughts became murky, as if she were sinking into a dark lake.

The torches. The screams.

The next thing she knew, her eyes snapped open. She was sitting in a chair by the fire. Clovis and Rachel knelt next to her.

"—serious, all right," Clovis was saying.

"What happened?" Reyna said. "How long—"

"Just a few minutes," Rachel said. "But it was tense. You almost dissolved."

Reyna hoped she didn't mean _literally_, but her expression was solemn.

"Usually," Clovis said, "memories are lost for a good reason. They sink under the surface like dreams, and with a good sleep, I can bring them back. But this …"

"Lethe?" Rachel asked.

"No," Clovis said. "Not even Lethe."

"Lethe?" Reyna asked, she felt like she should know what that was. Like a someone had mentioned it and she wasn't really paying attention when they did.

Clovis pointed to the tree branch dripping milky drops above the fireplace. "The River Lethe in the Underworld. It dissolves your memories, wipes your mind clean permanently. That's the branch of a poplar tree from the Underworld, dipped into the Lethe. It's the symbol of my father, Hypnos. Lethe is not a place you want to go swimming."

Rachel nodded. "Percy went there once. He told me it was powerful enough to wipe the mind of a Titan."

Reyna was suddenly glad she hadn't touched the branch. "But … that's not my problem?"

"No," Clovis agreed. "Your mind wasn't wiped, and your memories weren't buried. They've been stolen."

The fire crackled. Drops of Lethe water plinked into the tin cups on the mantel. One of the other Hypnos campers muttered in his sleep—something about a duck.

"Stolen," Reyna said. "How?"

"A god," Clovis said. "Only a god would have that kind of power."

"We know that," said Reyna, her temper rising again. They were getting nowhere fast. "It was Juno. But how did she do it, and why?"

Clovis scratched his neck. "Juno?"

"She means Hera," Rachel said. "For some reason, Reyna likes the Roman names."

"Hmm," Clovis said.

"What?" Reyna asked. "Does that mean something?"

"Hmm," Clovis said again, and this time Reyna realized he was snoring.

"Clovis!" Rachel yelled.

"What? What?" His eyes fluttered open. "We were talking about pillows, right? No, gods. I remember. Greek and Roman. Sure, could be important."

"But they're the same gods," Rachel said. "Just different names."

"Not exactly," Clovis said.

Reyna sat forward, now very much awake. Her brain was prickling again, that feeling she felt in the bus came back. She was missing something. Something extremely important. "What do you mean, not exactly?"

"Well …" Clovis yawned. "Some gods are only Roman. Like Janus, or Pompona or Bellona…" Something stirred in Reyna's chest and her right fist clenched. "But even the major Greek gods—it's not just their names that changed when they moved to Rome. Their appearances changed. Their attributes changed. They even had slightly different personalities."

"But …" Rachel faltered. "Okay, so maybe people saw them differently through the centuries. That doesn't change who they are."

"Sure it does." Clovis began to nod off, and Reyna snapped her fingers under his nose.

"Coming, Mother!" he yelped. "I mean … Yeah, I'm awake. So, um, personalities. The gods change to reflect their host cultures. You know that, Rachel. I mean, these days, Zeus likes tailored suits, reality television, and that Chinese food place on East Twenty-eighth Street, right? It was the same in Roman times, and the gods were Roman almost as long as they were Greek. It was a big empire, lasted for centuries. So of course their Roman aspects are still a big part of their character."

"Makes sense," Reyna agreed, still feeling uneasy.

Rachel shook her head, mystified. "But how do you know all this, Clovis?"

"Oh, I spend a lot of time dreaming. I see the gods there all the time—always shifting forms. Dreams are fluid, you know. You can be in different places at once, always changing identities. It's a lot like being a god, actually. Like recently, I dreamed I was watching a Michael Jackson concert, and then I was onstage _with _Michael Jackson, and we were singing this duet, and I could _not _remember the words for 'The Girl Is Mine.' Oh, man, it was so embarrassing, I—"

"Clovis," Rachel interrupted. "Back to Rome?"

"Right, Rome," Clovis said. "So we call the gods by their Greek names because that's their original form. But saying their Roman aspects are exactly the same—that's not true. In Rome, they became more warlike. They didn't mingle with mortals as much. They were harsher, more powerful—the gods of an empire."

"Like the dark side of the gods?" Rachel asked.

"Not exactly," Clovis said. "They stood for discipline, honor, strength—"

"Good things, then," Reyna said. For some reason, she felt the need to speak up for the Roman gods, though wasn't sure why it mattered to her. "Discipline is fundamental, right? That's what made Rome last so long."

Clovis gave her a curious look. "That's true. But the Roman gods weren't very friendly. For instance, my dad, Hypnos … he didn't do much except sleep in Greek times. In Roman times, they called him Somnus. He liked killing people who didn't stay alert at their jobs. If they nodded off at the wrong time, _boom—_they never woke up. He killed the helmsman of Aeneas when they were sailing from Troy."

"Nice guy," Rachel said. "But I still don't understand what it has to do with Reyna."

"Neither do I," Clovis said. "But if Hera took your memory, only she can give it back. And if I had to meet the queen of the gods, I'd hope she was more in a Hera mood than a Juno mood. Can I go back to sleep now?"

Rachel stood and tossed Clovis his pillow. "Thanks, Clovis. We'll see you at dinner."

"Can I get room service?" Clovis yawned and stumbled to his bunk. "I feel like … zzzz …" He collapsed with his butt in the air and his face buried in a pillow.

"It's a miracle he doesn't suffocate." Rachel mumbled with a grin. But Reyna didn't care. She knew she was the one who was really in trouble

~o0o~

**Sorry for all the actual Dialogue, but it's the only way to get the story across. Don't worry, as soon as the leave, it will get better.**

**Review maybe?**


	5. The War Child?

**A/N: Hey guys, today is Uganda's independence day so...Update!**

**Thanks to Guest for the review, I really needed that to get this story going. Please don't forget to review. Tell me anything you like, constructive critisim, your bithday...your life story...whatever. Hearing from my readers gives me the vigour to keep writing.**

**Disclaimer: Same as the first.**

**REYNA WAS SERIOUSLY WORRIED ABOUT PIPER **and the whole campfire sing-along wasn't helping.

Neither was Leo Valdez. Instead of being super worried about his friend like Reyna thought he'd be, Leo just shrugged when Reyna had tolf him what happened. He then proceeded to make stupid peacock jokes the rest of the day.

Reyna sat at the campfire with the Hepheastus children, she didn't have much say in the matter, Leo insisted that she sit with him.

"Whouldst mine love leaveth me?" Leo had groaned dramatically. "No! Reyna I beesech thee!"

Finally the last song ended with a rowdy applause that Reyna refused to join, despite Leo's constant nudges in her side. Percy, who placed himself next to Reyna, had put on a smile and was clapping pretty vigorously, even louder than Leo. But Reyna could see the hurt in his eyes, she was familiar with it (though as per use she had no idea why). He seriously missed his girlfriend, so much it probably hurt. Reyna could relate, she felt that whenever she thought of that name: Jason.

Who the hell was he? Why was it that whenever Leo flirted with her his name suddenly popped up? Was he like her boyfriend...that word made Reyna cringe. No, he probably wasn't, but he almost was but then...

Her brain started to pop, she was so close to remembering something. Someone. Jason.

Leo nugded her side again, even more enthusiasticly than the last few times. "Wow, Reyna is that a-"

"Centuar," Percy answered instead, trying and failing to keep the anger out of his voice. Leo noticed and he turned to Reyna like _'what's his deal_?' Before Reyna could answer with a '_Try to be discreet Valdez_' look Chiron trotted in, brandishing a spear impaled with toasted marshmallows.

"Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first—"

"What about capture the flag?" somebody yelled. Grumbling broke out among some kids in armor, sitting under a red banner with the emblem of a boar's head. Reyna's head popped again. Mars, god of war. They were definatly Mars kids, they had to be.

Reyna felt a pang in her chest. She wasn't a Mars kid, but she did feel a certain pull towards them...

"Yes," the centaur said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."

"And kill people!" one of them shouted.

"However," Chiron said, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"

He turned to the group Reyna was currently sitting with. Leo winked at Reyna, then at Piper and shot the latter girl with a finger gun. The girl behind him stood uncomfortably. She wore an army jacket a lot like Leo's, with her hair covered in a red bandanna. Ny-something, Reyna vaguely remembered Leo introducing them. "We're working on it."

More grumbling.

"How, Nyssa?" an Ares kid demanded. Reyna totally agreed with him. That answer was so unsatisfactory, even she, who did not in anyway care about the dragon, felt cheated. This wasn't what a Demigod camp was supposed to be like. There had to be discipline, order.

_You don't belong here Reyna._ A voice whispered in her head. It wasn't Juno, no this voice was soft, but loud. Smooth yet raspy. Reyna blinked, voices in her head that was never a good thing. It repeated the fraze over and over and Reyna was more convinced this camp was the enemy. She had to leave, but how?

"Really hard," Nyssa said, Reyna was glad she did. In the silence, the voice grew louder. The amnesiac was getting dizzy, she needed some distraction from...whoever kept whispering.

Nyssa sat down to a lot of yelling and complaining, which caused the fire to sputter chaotically. Chiron stamped his hoof against the fire pit stones —bang, bang, bang—and the campers fell silent.

"We will have to be patient," Chiron said. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."

"Annabeth you mean?" someone asked. _No order, you don't belong._ The fire dimmed even further, Reyna wished they'd flare up. The mood flames responded to the crowd's anxiety, but Reyna needed a distraction from her developing headache. Chiron gestured to Percy, who took a deep breath and stood.

"I didn't find Annabeth," he announced. His voice caught a little when he said her name, but he cleared his throat to cover it. "She wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis —everyone's out looking. We _will _find her. Chiron's talking about something different. A new quest."

The voice stopped it's soft screams at that. Reyna groaned in relief, she turned hoping he hadn't noticed her temporary disorientation. He hadn't, Leo who seemed too concenrated on the drama unfolding.

"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" a girl called out.

Everyone turned. The voice had come from a group in back, sitting under a rose-colored banner with a dove emblem. They'd been chatting among themselves and not paying much attention until their leader stood up: Drew.

It just had to be Drew.

Everyone else looked surprised. Apparently Drew didn't address the crowd very often.

"Drew?" Percy asked, his happy façade forgotten as a frown touched his face. "What do you mean?"

"Well, come on." Drew spread her hands like the truth was obvious. It was though, wasn't it. Everyone seemed to know something was off. "Olympus is closed. Annabeth's disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three new demigods in one day. I mean, something weird is going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?"

Leo turned to whisper to Reyna, "What's she talking about—the Great Prophecy? How much d'you know about that?"

Reyna shrugged, finally feeling more or less like her amnesiac self again. "About as much as I know about myself at the moment."

Everyone else was looking at Rachel, the redhead next Piper.

"Well?" Drew called down. "You're the oracle. Has it started or not?" Rachel's eyes looked scary in the firelight.

"Wait, she's the chic who chlenches up and chants freaky voo-doo peacock goddess things, right?" Leo asked, he seemed serious, but the slight twinkle in his cinamon brown eyes said differently.

Reyna rolled her eyes and fought of a smile that always seemed to creep up whenever Leo tried(and failed) to make her laugh. "Her name is Rachel, she's an Oracle."

"Oh, like-" Leo was interupted Rachel, who had stepped forward calmly and addressed the camp. "Yes," she said. "The Great Prophecy has begun."

Pandemonium broke out.

Piper caught Reyna and Leo's attention. Reyna mouthed, You all right? She nodded and managed a smile, and rolled her eyes when Leo did something Reyna didn't quite catch.

When the talking finally subsided, Rachel took another step toward the audience, and fifty-plus demigods leaned away from her, as if one skinny redheaded mortal was more intimidating than all of them put together.

"For those of you who have not heard it," Rachel said, "the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August. It goes like this:

"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall—"

Reyna shot to her feet. Her eyes went wild, she couldn't see. It was like she'd just been tasered. Even Rachel seemed caught off guard. "R-Reyna?" she said. "What's—"

"_Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus,_" she chanted. "_Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem_." Reyna snapped out of her trance-like state immediately. An uneasy silence settled on the group.

Reyna could see from their faces that several of them were trying to translate the lines. She knew she'd spoken in Latin, it rolled of her tongue so easily, like in Chiron's office. But she wasn't sure why she was suddenly chanting like a Catholic priest.

Was it like a reflex? _You don't belong here Reyna_. The voice said once before going silent again.

"You just…finished the prophecy," Rachel stammered. "—An oath to keep with a final breath/And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. How did you—"

"I know those lines." Reyna winced and put her hands to her temples. The voice was gone again, hopefully for good. "I don't know how, but I know that prophecy."

"In Latin, no less," Drew called out. "Pretty and smart, that's an Aphrodite girl right there."

There was some mummering of assent from the Aphrodite cabin and a few other campers scoffed because they'd seen Reyna in feirce mood. But it didn't do much to break the tension. The campfire was burning a chaotic, nervous shade of green.

Reyna sat down, feeling embarrassed. She was always to be composed, in control and this just made her feel like a laughing stock. She knew she would have never do something that unrully and random. Leo gave her a reasuring smile though and, even though she'd never admit it to anyone, she felt a little better about herself.

"You ok?" He seemed totally genuine this time.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Only she wasn't, but seeing Leo deflated like this because of her brought out her better nature. She didn't need Leo worried, that would be her job.

"Good, 'cause I'm pretty sure you're gonna have to give me Latin lessons more often." Leo winked. "That would definatly make our relationship more _interesting_."

Rachel Dare still looked a little shaken. She glanced back at Chiron for guidance, but the centaur stood grim and silent, as if he were watching a play he couldn't interrupt—a tragedy that ended with a lot of people dead onstage. Yeah, from the way things were turning out that didn't sound improbable.

"Well," Rachel said, trying to regain her composure. "So, yeah, that's the Great Prophecy. We hoped it might not happen for years, but I fear it's starting now. I can't give you proof. It's just a feeling. And like Drew said, some weird stuff is happening. The seven demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. I get the feeling some are here tonight. Some are not here."

The campers began to stir and mutter, looking at each other nervously, until a drowsy voice in the crowd called out, "I'm here! Oh … were you calling?"

"Go back to sleep, Clovis," someone yelled, and a lot of people laughed.

"Anyway," Rachel continued, "we don't know what the Great Prophecy means. We don't know what challenge the demigods will face, but since the first Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess the second Great Prophecy will predict something at least that bad."

"Or worse," Chiron murmured.

Maybe he didn't mean everyone to overhear, but they did. The campfire immediately turned dark purple.

Purple.

That was familiar.

"What we do know," Rachel said, "is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. Hera, the queen of the gods, has been taken."

Shocked silence. Then fifty demigods started talking at once.

Chiron pounded his hoof again, but Rachel still had to wait before she could get back their attention.

She told them about the bus incident—how Gleeson Hedge was taken when the storm spirits attacked, and the spirits had warned it was only the beginning. Rachel met Reyna's eye at that point, like she knew Reyna hadn't told anyone about the mistress.

Then Rachel told them about Piper passing out in Hera's cabin. Reyna saw Piper trying to keep a calm expression, even when she noticed Drew in the back row, pantomiming a faint, and her friends giggling. Finally Rachel told them about Reyna's vision in the living room of the Big House. The message Hera had delivered there was so similar it couldn't have been a coincidence. The only difference: Hera had warned Piper not to betray her. Why though? Reyna trusted her instincts, they'd saved her so much in the past two days anyway. Her insticts trusted Piper, why would Hera-Juno even think something like that.

Unless she knew Piper was hiding something, which was understandble. This camp couldn't be trusted.

"Reyna..." Rachel said. "Um … do you remember your last name?" Leo looked unsurely at Reyna. The answer was obviously no, but he was probably hoping she at least remembered that. Reyna looked up at Rachel, carefull to keep her growing irritation in check and shook her head.

"We'll just call you Reyna then," Rachel said. "It's clear Hera herself has issued you a quest."

Rachel paused, as if giving Reyna a chance to protest her destiny. Everyone's eyes were on her, but she didn't mind the preasure, instead she looked up at Rachel with a totally determined face. She set her jaw and nodded. "I agree."

"You must save Hera to prevent a great evil," Rachel continued. "Some sort of king from rising. For reasons we don't yet understand, it must happen by the winter solstice, only four days from now."

"That's the council day of the gods?" Percy didn't sound so sure, so he glanced at Chiron who nodded. "If the gods don't already know Hera's gone, they will definitely notice her absence by then. They'll probably freak out and start fighting, accusing each other of taking her. That's what they usually do."

"The winter solstice," Chiron spoke up, "is also the time of greatest darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things … stir." The way he said it, stirring sounded absolutely sinister—like it should be a first-degree felony, not something you did to cookie dough.

"Okay," Percy glared at the centaur. "Thank you, Captain Sunshine."

No one laughed though. Angry Percy didn't seem like a usual occurence at this camp.

Chiron ignored him. "I agree with Rachel. Reyna has been chosen to lead this quest, so—"

"Why hasn't she been claimed?" somebody yelled from the Ares cabin. "If she's so important—"

"She has been claimed," Chiron announced. "Long ago. Reyna, give them a demonstration."

"What's she gonna do, tapdance?" A female voice yelled from the Ares group.

Chiron smiled grimly. "Clarisse, a word."

A large, well built girl emmerged and casually walked towards Chiron, the other Ares kids cheering and clapping her on the back. The old centaur whispered something in her ear. She grinned ferally and through the spear she'd come up with to the ground.

At first, Reyna didn't understand, but Leo started nudging her again so she stepped forward nervously. She glanced at Piper, and the latter nodded encouragingly.

Clarisse attacked. She sprinted towards Reyna and made to tackle her, but Reyna ducked on instict and slid under Clarisse's muscley arms, making the huger girl stumble slightly.

All fifty campers cheered like dodging Clarisse was some great acheivement.

Reyna sent an acusing look to Leo, who smiled and shrugged and Piper, who mimicked punching motions as encouragement. This was how Chiron wanted her to prove herself: Wrestling with a female Dwayne Johnson.

Clarisse steadied herself, growled and turned to face the amnesiac. She attacked again, even faster this time, aiming a mean right hook at Reyna's face. Reyna blocked it her wrist and used the force to make Clarrise stumble again. Before Clarisse caught herself, Reyna spun round and gave her a flat-footed kick in the back.

By the time Clarrise rolled onto her back to try and get up a golden sword tip was pointed at her throat.

"How's that for tapdancing!" A voice Reyna was positive belonged to Leo Valdez shouted as everyone fell silent.

Chiron grimaced as if his worst fears had been confirmed. "Not so dramatic perhaps, but you've made your point. And I believe we have a war child in our midst."

Clarisse dusted herself off and growled as she adjusted her bandana. "All hail Reyna, daughter of Ares god of war."

Reyna frowned. She wasn't an Ares kid, a child of war maybe, but not Ares. She looked to Chiron who simply nodded. _Go with it, _he was saying.

Apparently, the rest of the camp wasn't so sure either. Everything broke into chaos, with dozens of people asking questions until Percy raised his arms and scowled. Pregnant silence followed.

"The important thing," Rachel started when she recieved a nod from the son of the sea, "is that Reyna has a quest to fulfill, which means she will need her own prophecy."

She closed her eyes and swooned. Two campers rushed forward and caught her. A third ran to the side of the amphitheater and grabbed a bronze three-legged stool, like they'd been trained for this duty. They eased Rachel onto the stool in front of the hearth and green mist started swirling around Rachel's feet. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing. Emerald smoke issued from her mouth. The voice that came out was raspy and ancient—the sound a snake would make if it could talk:

"_Child of war, beware the earth, The giants' revenge the seven shall birth, The forge and dove shall break the cage, And death unleash through Hera's rage."_

On the last word, Rachel collapsed, but her helpers were waiting to catch her. They carried her away from the hearth and laid her in the corner to rest.

"Is that normal?" Piper asked. Then she realized she'd spoken into the silence, and everyone was looking at her. "I mean… does she spew green smoke a lot?"

"Gods, you're dense!" Drew sneered. "She just issued a prophecy—Reyna's prophecy to save Hera! Why don't you just—"

"Drew," Percy snapped. "Piper asked a fair question. Something about that prophecy definitely isn't normal. If breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death … why would we free her? It might be a trap, or—or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She's never been kind to heroes."

Reyna sighed. "I don't have much choice. Hera took my memory. I need it back. Besides, we can't just not help the queen of the heavens if she's in trouble."

A girl from Hephaestus cabin stood up—Nyssa, the one with the red bandanna. "Maybe. But you should listen to Percy. Hera can be vengeful. She threw her own son—our dad—down a mountain just because he was ugly."

"Real ugly," snickered someone from Aphrodite.

"Shut up!" Nyssa growled. "Anyway, we've also got to think —why beware the earth? And what's the giants' revenge? What are we dealing with here that's powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?"

No one answered, but Reyna noticed Percy and Chiron having a silent exchange. Reyna assumed it went something like:

'_The giants' revenge … giants, what giants?_' Percy raised a brow.

'_Later Percy,_' A disapproving frown from the centuar.

_'You're kidding me!'_ An even more disapproving frown from Percy. _'Chiron, Annabeth's involved, I need info. Now.'_ Percy narrowed his eyes.

Chiron purrsed his lips and shook his head ever so slightly. _'Later, child. If I told you everything in their presence, they would be too terrified to proceed._'

Reyna didn't know if she could read the expressions of two people she barely knew, but she was absolutely positive she understood them. And it scared the shit out of her.

Percy took a deep breath. "It's Reyna's quest," he announced, "so it's Reyna's choice. Obviously, she's the child of war. According to tradition, she should choose two companions."

Someone from the Hermes cabin yelled, "Well, you, obviously, Percy. You've got the most experience."

"No, Travis," Percy said. "First off, I'm not helping Hera. Every time Annabeth tried, she's deceived her, or it's come back to bite her later. Forget it. No way. I don't want any more bad luck. Secondly, I'm leaving first thing in the morning to find Annabeth."

"It's connected," Piper blurted out, everyone turned. Reyna almost groaned, the hell was she doing. "You know that's true, don't you? This whole business, your girlfriend's disappearance—it's all connected."

"How?" demanded Drew. "If you're so smart, how?" Piper seemed to be trying to form an answer, but she couldn't.

Percy saved her. "You may be right, Piper. If this is connected, I'll find out from the other end—by searching for Annabeth. As I said, I'm not about to rush off to rescue Hera, even if her disappearance sets the rest of the Olympians fighting again. But there's another reason I can't go. The prophecy says otherwise."

"It says who I pick," Reyna agreed, surpised Percy had heard it too. "The forge and dove shall break the cage. The forge is the symbol of Vul—Hephaestus."

Under the Cabin Nine banner, Nyssa's shoulders slumped, like she'd just been given a heavy anvil to carry. "If you have to beware the earth," she said, "you should avoid traveling overland. You'll need air transport."

Reyna didn't really care about the specifics, she could just take a pegasus or something.

"The flying chariot's broken," Nyssa continued, "and the pegasi, we're using them to search for Percy. But maybe Hephaestus cabin can help figure out something else to help. With Jake incapacitated, I'm senior camper. I can volunteer for the quest." She didn't sound enthusiastic.

Then Leo stood up. He'd been so quiet, well by Leo standards, Reyna had almost forgotten he was there. "It's me," he said.

His cabinmates stirred. Several tried to pull him back to his seat, but Leo resisted.

"No, it's me. I know it is. I've got an idea for the transportation problem. Let me try. I can fix this!"

Reyna studied him for a moment. She didn't want him to come along. He was too clumsy, too vunerable and way too inexperienced. Reyna remembered how worried she was when he got slammed into the back of the bus. She didn't want to feel that scared or helpless ever again.

But there was the issue of trust. However annoying, or flirtatious or stupid Leo Valdez was, she trusted him, and Piper, way more than anyone at this camp.

She sighed. "We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. If you can find us transportation you're in."

"Yes!" Leo pumped his fist.

"It'll be dangerous," Nyssa warned him. "Hardship, monsters, terrible suffering. Possibly none of you will come back alive."

"Oh." Suddenly Leo didn't look so excited. Then he remembered everyone was watching. "I mean … Oh, cool! Suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this!"

Percy nodded. "Then, Reyna, you only need to choose the third quest member. The dove—"

"Oh, absolutely!" Drew was on her feet and flashing Reyna a smile. "The dove is Aphrodite. Everybody knows that. I am totally in."

Drew was probably thinking of giving Reyna makeovers and playing with her long, black hair. Reyna inwardly cringed. She didn't trust Drew as much as she hated Percy. Taking this particular Aphrodite spawn would be stupid.

Reyna saw Piper clench her hands and step forward. "No."

Drew rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Dumpster girl. Back off."

"I had the vision of Hera; not you. I have to do this." Piper didn't seem to like the idea of Drew, fasionista and bitch extrodinaire on a mission to save the whole world. She looked at Reyna, pleading.

Did she not trust the camp? Reyna sure didn't. But no, Piper didn't have the same feeling Reyna did. Then why? Maybe Juno...

No. Reyna wasn't letting anyone make her distrust her friend.

"Anyone can have a vision," Drew said. "You were just at the right place at the right time." She turned to Reyna. "Look, fighting is all fine, I suppose. And people who build things …" She looked at Leo in disdain. "Well, I suppose someone has to get their hands dirty. But you need charm on your side. I can be very persuasive. I could help a lot."

The campers started murmuring about how Drew was pretty persuasive. Reyna could see Drew winning them over, if anything Reyna felt that maybe Drew would be a great choice. Even Chiron was scratching his beard, like Drew's participation suddenly made sense to him.

"Well …" Percy said. "The prophecy did say a dove—"

"No!" Piper's voice sounded strange in Reyna's ears—more insistent, richer in tone, like when she told Percy to leave Reyna alone. "I'm supposed to go."

Then the weirdest thing happened. Everyone started nodding, muttering that hmm, Piper's point of view made sense too. Drew looked around, incredulous. Even some of her own campers were nodding.

"Get over it!" Drew snapped at the crowd. "What can Piper do?"

Piper tried to respond, but her confidence seemed to wane.

"Well," Drew said smugly, "I guess that settles it."

Reyna gasped along with everyone else. They all just stared at Piper like she'd just exploded. Because she sort of had. Piper seemed to wonder what she'd done wrong. Then she noticed reddish glow around her. "What?" she demanded.

Above her, there was no burning symbol like the one that appeared over Leo. But then she looked down and yelped.

She was adorned in a beautiful white sleeveless gown that went down to her ankles, with a V-neck so low it must have been totally embarrassing. Delicate gold armbands circled her biceps. An intricate necklace of amber, coral, and gold flowers glittered on her chest, and her hair was...well it was perfect: lush and long and chocolate brown, braided with gold ribbons down one side so it fell across her shoulder. She even wore makeup, better than Piper would ever know how to do herself—subtle touches that made her lips cherry red and brought out all the different colors in her eyes.

"Oh, god," she said. "What's happened?" She pulled out a well oilled knife Reyna hadn't noticed her friend had and looked at her reflection in horror.

"Damn!" Leo exclaimed. "Piper, you're a knockout!"

Reyna felt a momentary stab in her chest, one very different from the Jason-pang. Something about Leo thinking that bothered her...or it could've been the fact that Piper, who had killed 'Dylan' and was super aggressive was a spawn of Venus.

_Yeah_, she told herself. _It's the Piper situation._

Everyone was staring at her like she was a freak. Drew's face was full of horror and revulsion. "No!" she cried. "Not possible!"

"This isn't me," Piper protested. "I—don't understand."

Chiron the centaur folded his front legs and bowed to her, and all the campers followed his example. Reyna bowed as well, half pleased and half scared. Two people to worry about now.

"Hail, Piper McLean," Chiron announced gravely, as if he were speaking at her funeral. "Daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love."

~o0o~

**...And done!**

**The Clarisse fight scene was fun to write. There's probably going to be a fight with Percy in the next chapter.**

**Good? Bad? Horrible? Tell me in a review.**


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